Sweet Child of Mine
by crematosis
Summary: When a baby is found in the rubble after a mission, Tony, the only omega on the team, volunteers to take care of her. But nobody is prepared for just how quickly Tony takes to childcare.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Look who's gotten herself into another huge avengerkink fill fic. Yeeep. As of this posting, I'm 75 pages in and still nowhere near being finished. But I'm posting this first bit now as a little motivation for me to continue.

Disclaimer: As always, I own none of the Avengers stuff and this whole fic is loosely based off a prompt I was given.

"As you all know," Nick Fury began, "Agent Barton discovered a small child in the rubble during your last rescue mission. The child's-"

"Parents been found yet?" Tony asked, fiddling absently with his phone. "I've been looking for the obligatory SHIELD photo-op with the happy family as agents unite them with their beloved baby. Nothing yet."

Fury's eye narrowed. "No, the parents have not been found. And put that damn thing away."

Steve kicked Tony under the table and shot him a look. With a heavy sigh, Tony shoved the phone back in his pocket.

"As I was saying," Fury continued, giving Tony a dark look, "the child's parents have not been located yet, but we are working on it as we speak. In the meantime, SHIELD's medical staff has recommended that the baby leave the facility and stay with a volunteer caregiver."

"Ooh, me, me, me!" Tony waved a hand wildly. "Pick me."

Steve rolled his eyes, tempted to kick him again.

Fury's face remained impassive. "Anybody else?"

"Oh, come on. I'm the only omega on the team. It totally makes sense for me to take care of this kid."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "You have no experience raising a child. You don't even know how to take care of a pet."

"Not true," Tony objected. "Dummy, Butterfingers, and You are my babies. They were just tiny heaps of metal when they were first born and look at them now."

"And yet, you still named them Dummy, Butterfingers, and You," Natasha muttered under her breath.

Tony scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't want me to give the kid a nickname? Fine, be that way."

"Tony, robots don't require the same level of care as a human child," Bruce said gently. "Your bots manage just fine on their own most of the day, but a baby needs constant attention."

"I know what babies need. Food, toys, clothes, diapers. I can have Jarvis put in an order for everything the baby needs and it'll be at the Tower by the time this boring meeting is over. And, really, I am the best person to handle this baby. I can afford anything and everything it'll ever need."

Fury sighed and massaged his temple. "There's no reasoning with you, is there? Fine. But when you decide this baby isn't the fun little project you thought it was, it's coming right back to SHIELD." He leveled the other Avengers with a stern look. "Make sure he doesn't fuck this up. The last thing we need is a dead baby on our hands."

"Yes, sir," Steve said.

He didn't know why Tony was so bound and determined to take on the responsibility, but even Fury had learned by now it was easier to just let Tony do what he wanted to do and take care of the fallout afterward.

Tony would probably get bored with the baby in a few days, but there were usually six other people in the Tower. If Tony started to forget to feed it, one of the others could step up and help out. Steve had a suspicion that that person was going to be him.

Oh well. It might be fun to play parent for a little bit. It was probably the closest Steve would ever come to having a child of his own.

Tony grinned and gave Fury a thumbs up."You've made the right choice, my friend. You won't regret it."

"I'm already regretting it," Fury growled. "That baby is probably more mature than you'll ever be. Now, we have more pressing matters to discuss. We still have an entire street closed off because of all the rubble from that damn goat man."

"He called himself Battering Ram," Clint added helpfully.

"I don't give a damn what he calls himself. We just have to clean up the motherfucking mess he left behind."

"Yep," Tony said disinterestedly. "Sounds like fun."

Steve frowned at him. He was already back to fiddling with his phone again. Steve nudged him warningly with his foot, but Tony continued to tap buttons.

"Tony," Steve hissed. "Fury's going to-"

"Off the phone, Stark," Fury snapped. "Don't make me tell you again."

Natasha leaned over to whisper to Steve, "Look at that. Already moved on to something else."

"I'm ordering things for the baby," Tony said indignantly. "Boy or girl?"

Fury glowered at him."Girl."

"Excellent. And would you say closer to four months or six months? Because there is this really awesome shirt that says 'Troublemaker' and one that says 'Little Rebel' and I want-"

"Off the phone now," Fury said in a tone that warned dire consequences for any disobedience.

Tony huffed and slipped the phone back into his pocket. "Fine. The kid'll just have to go topless for a couple hours."

Fury shook his head. "This is just another distraction for you, isn't it? Just another thing you can be doing instead of focusing on the meeting."

"Right," Tony said with a dramatic eye roll. "Because everything I do is to avoid listening to your debriefings. And people think I'm the narcissist."

"Tony," Steve said gently. "You already have a lot of commitments. You have your work for Stark Industries, Avengers calls, and your consulting work for SHIELD. If this baby is going to eat into all your time and cause you to neglect the rest of your duties-"

Tony straightened in his seat. "No, no," he said. "I've got this. I'm completely focused on this meeting. We're talking about the rubble right? Easy stuff. Hire a few bulldozers and it'll all be taken care of. Problem solved, meeting adjourned. Let's all go home now."

Fury looked decidedly unhappy about the whole thing, but he waved a hand dismissively. "Fine. Go pick up the damn baby. But I expect you to pitch in to clear the rubble tomorrow with everybody else. And no, you do not get to hire contractors to do your share of the work."

"Aye, aye, boss," Tony said with a snappy salute. "We'll be there."

Steve expected Tony to want to race down to the infirmary to see the baby, but he hung back in the stairwell for a moment. "You guys go ahead," he said. "I have to make arrangements with Pepper."

"If he has Pepper come over and take care of the baby for him, I'm kicking his ass," Natasha said darkly.

"We don't know what he's talking to Pepper about," Steve reminded her.

But the fact that Tony was back on the phone again wasn't a good sign.

The SHIELD medic met them at the door, a wary look on her face. "Director Fury warned me you were coming. I still think letting Mr. Stark handle a baby is a terrible idea, but I can't contradict the director's orders."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Steve said. "If anything goes wrong, the rest of us are there to help out."

The medic gave him a long, searching look, but finally led them over to the makeshift crib in the corner of the room. The baby was still wearing the same yellow dress she had sported when Clint picked her out of the rubble. It was a little dirty, but she didn't seem to mind. She just gurgled happily to herself and kicked her feet.

"Steve," Natasha breathed. "She looks just like you."

Steve snorted. So, the baby had blue eyes and blonde hair just like her did. It was just a slight resemblance.

Tony wandered in to the infirmary. "Good news. Pepper's going to hook us up with babysitting if we get called on a mission." He padded over to the crib and peered inside."Hey there, princess." He wiggled a finger in front of her face and she reached out to curl her hand around it.

The medic cleared her throat. "Mr. Stark. Before I allow you to take little Emily home, there are a few rules I need to go over."

Tony lifted the baby out of the crib and settled her in his arms. "Emily? Really? Why didn't you name her Stephanie? She looks just like Cap."

"She does not," Steve objected.

The medic scowled. "It doesn't matter what we call her. It's probably not her real name anyway."

"We should have a bet on what the real name is," Clint said eagerly.

"I'm still voting for Stephanie," Tony said.

"We'll bet on the first letter of the name," Clint decided. "That'll be easier. I'll rope in a few of the SHIELD agents so we have all the letters covered."

"S," Tony said. "I'm calling it first."

Clint pulled out his own phone and began setting up the betting pool. "You want in on this, Cap?"

Steve sighed. "Fine. T."

Tony bounced the baby in his arms. "You hear that, Stephy? Cap's betting against me. You better not let me down."

The baby giggled and jammed her fist in her mouth.

The medic sighed. "So, I want to go over the list of supplies you'll need." She grabbed a checklist off the counter.

Tony glanced at the paper. "Already taken care of."

"Mr. Stark, you haven't even read-"

"I put in an order for all the stuff we'll need," Tony said cheerfully. "It's probably at the Tower already."

The medic put her hands on her hips. "And I suppose you thought to order a-"

"Diaper bag? Changing table? Pacifier? Diaper rash ointment? Trust me. I've got it covered."

The medic ground her teeth together. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it," she said. She thrust the checklist at Steve. "Look this over once you get her home. Make sure he's got all the necessities."

"Uh, okay," Steve said.

He wasn't sure why she was making it his job to check up on Tony. Probably just because he was team leader. But it was weird how it always seemed to be his responsibility to fix things when Tony was being Tony.

"Let's take you home," Tony said to the baby. "We'll get you out of these icky, dirty clothes that nobody even bothered to wash. Shame on them."

The medic gave him one last withering glare and shooed them out the door.

Just as Tony had promised, by the time they arrived back at the Tower, there were a couple large boxes on the doorstep from a baby boutique in Brooklyn.

With help from Thor and Steve, everything was dragged to an empty room on Tony's floor, two doors down from his bedroom. And then Tony began excitedly tearing into the boxes, pulling out packages of diapers, bibs, clothes, changing pads, toys, and bottles. He held each item up for the baby's inspection.

Steve surreptitiously shredded the list. With all the things piling up in the baby's new bedroom, he very much doubted Tony had missed a single necessity. He probably had enough supplies to take care of five babies.

Tony glanced around at the mess he had created. "Wow. I might have bought a little more than I needed."

"What can we do to help?" Natasha asked.

"Uhh, I'll probably give her a bath first and change her into something clean. So, if you guys can dig out a wash cloth, towel, baby shampoo, wash basin, and one of the diaper boxes, that'll be great."

Clint spotted most of the things Tony needed pretty quickly and the others pawed through the piles for the rest of the stuff and it was all collected into the wash basin.

Tony shifted the baby to his hip and tucked the basin under his other arm. "Thanks, guys. I'll be back in a few."

"I'll help," Natasha said. "You'll probably need an extra set of hands."

"Nope. I got this," Tony said cheerfully. "But feel to continue unpacking while I'm gone." He vanished into the adjacent bathroom.

Natasha frowned. "Why does he always act like he's too good to accept our help? He's not going to be able to take care of the baby all by himself. You know he's not."

"So, we help him in all the ways we can," Steve said. "Starting with unpacking the rest of this stuff."

Natasha sighed as she bent down to slice open another box with one of her knives. "Realistically, how long do you think Stark is going to last before he decides child care is too difficult?"

"We shouldn't be too worried about that," Bruce said. "He's probably not going to look after the baby for more than a week. Any good parent would be desperately searching for their child so SHIELD should be able to track them down pretty quickly."

"Unless they're dead," Natasha said.

"Unless they're dead," Steve echoed glumly. The Battering Ram had taken out a small cafe, a hair salon, and a brownstone in his rampage. Three people had been critically injured and there were five casualties. The baby's parents could have been among them.

"So what do we do then?

Steve chewed his bottom lip, wishing he had an answer for her. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said finally. "In the meantime, let's all just focus on keeping this baby healthy and happy."

"Hey," Clint said. "Did we start a bet on when the parents would turn up yet?"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Do we really need another bet right now?"

There was supposedly another bet going around on how long Tony would take care of the baby before he realized he didn't know what the hell he was doing. And Agent Hill was only giving Tony until the first diaper change.

Steve found that a little insulting, but maybe it was for the best. Tony's greatest triumphs usually came at a time when everyone was betting against him.

Tony returned with the baby swaddled in a pale purple blanket just as they were unpacking the last of the boxes. "Looking good," he said approvingly. "Did we manage to find the crib yet?"

Natasha stared in disbelief. "Back already? Did you actually wash her or just put a towel over her?"

"Of course I bathed her. How else would my shirt get this wet? No, wait, don't answer that."

Steve steadfastly refused to think of any other explanation.

Tony spread the blanket out on the floor and settled the baby in the middle of it. "There you are," he said. "You just sit tight while we get your crib ready."

The baby tugged at the hem of her pink top and then raised her hands above her head with a whimper.

"Are you sure you put that on her right?" Natasha asked. "She doesn't seem to like wearing it."

Tony scooped the baby back into his arms. "She's just tired," he said. "The bath made her kind of sleepy."

The baby whined and rubbed at her eyes.

"I know, I know," Tony said soothingly. "You've had a long day and now you're ready for bed." He glanced up. "I need an ETA on the crib, guys."

"Do I look like a furniture building expert?" Clint grumbled. "I think all the instructions are in some made-up language."

Tony sighed heavily. "I have to do everything myself, don't I?" He turned to Steve. "Hold Stephy for a moment."

"But, Tony, I don't-"

"Nonsense. You two are practically twins. I'm sure she'll love you." Tony pressed the baby into his arms, pausing for only a moment to adjust Steve's hands into a different position before he scurried off to take over the crib setup.

Steve sighed and awkwardly bounced the baby in his arms as her cries got progressively louder.

He was thankful when Tony finally returned to take her back.

Tony hummed as he rocked the baby in his arms. Eventually the baby's wails tapered off as she snuggled into his chest. "That's it," he said softly. He eased her down carefully into the crib. She made a small sound of protest, but didn't actually appear to be waking up again.

"Awesome," Tony said. "Jarvis, we got this?"

"Yes, sir," Jarvis said. The lights dimmed slightly and a quiet lullaby started playing. "I will alert you when she wakes."

"Okay, great." Tony shooed them towards the door. "It's only eight, so I'm sure you all have places to be, things to do. No one wants to stare at a sleeping baby for hours."

"So, what are you going to do then?" Steve asked.

Tony looked a little startled. "Oh, um, stuff. Just stuff. I'll see you tomorrow." He hurriedly closed the door behind them.

"I think this baby thing is already stressing him out," Natasha muttered. "He's acting weirder than usual."

Steve shrugged. "It's a big responsibility."

"And he doesn't have to do it alone. Look at all of us. We're all willing to pitch in and lend a hand."

"Speak for yourself," Clint said. "I ain't changing no dirty diaper."

Natasha cuffed him upside the head. "I think I trust you with a baby even less than I trust Stark."

They were still playfully bickering as they made their way back down to their own floors.

Steve lingered outside the baby's room for a few more moments, hoping Tony to talk to him for a minute before he retreated down to the lab. But Tony wasn't coming out. With a sigh, Steve finally made his way to the elevator.

He really hoped Tony wasn't having a nervous breakdown. Knowing him, he wouldn't ask for help until it was too late.


	2. Chapter 2

When Steve walked into the kitchen the next morning, he was a little surprised to see a high chair sitting next to the counter. He was even more surprised when he looked in the pantry and saw cans of formula and jars of baby food tucked in with the cereal.

He glanced back at Bruce, who was sitting at the kitchen counter right next to the high chair, drinking his usual cup of tea like nothing was out of the ordinary. "Is it just me," Steve asked, "or was it not like this when we went to bed?"

Bruce smiled. "He certainly doesn't waste any time, does he?"

Natasha's voice carried in from the hallway. "Why are there baby gates on all the stairs?" She wandered into the kitchen, looking a little shell-shocked. "When did he do all this?"

"Sometime last night," Steve guessed. "You know how little he sleeps when he gets excited about a new project."

Natasha nodded and took another look around the kitchen. "Where is he anyway?"

Bruce pointed to the fridge. A note taped was taped to the door, proclaiming, "See you at the clean-up site, slowpokes," in Tony's bold scrawl.

There was a little blue smudge at the bottom. Steve frowned. "Is that...?" He peered closer. In tiny print, Tony had added, "P.S. Stephy likes blueberries. Just like Cap :)"

Right. Tony just wasn't going to let that joke go.

Natasha leaned against the counter and took a sip of coffee. "So, he didn't any sleep last night, I'm assuming. Any bets on what state he'll be in for the clean-up?"

"I'm betting on manic," Clint said as he dropped down from the vents. "Did you know he put safety plates over all the electrical outlets and latches on all the cabinets?"

Steve rubbed his forehead wearily. If Tony had really gone to all that effort last night, he had to be exhausted by now, but to counteract the drowsiness, he had probably drunk enough coffee to turn him into a zany cartoon character. It was not going to be fun dealing with him all day.

"We'll have to make the most of it," Steve said. "Grab yourselves some lunch or snack and let's move out."

Clint grumbled to himself as he tossed an apple and a Tupperware full of leftovers into his bag. "Stark better pull his own weight. I'm going to be so pissed if he's too wound up to get anything done."

"Trust me," Steve said. "He'll do his share of the work." He threw a few things in his own pack and slung it over his shoulder.

The site was only a block away from the Tower, well within walking distance. Steve had always liked being able to walk to a mission, especially when it was nice and sunny outside. It was an excellent morale boost before a fight, or even a clean-up mission.

When they arrived on scene, Tony was standing in front of the biggest pile of rubble in only a ratty t-shirt and jeans. He waved to them. "Hi, guys. Glad you could make it." He turned slightly so they could see the baby strapped to his back. "Stephy says hi, too."

Steve was horrified. "Tony, you can't take the baby into a construction zone."

"Pepper's on her way," Tony said cheerfully. "I just thought I'd start canvassing the neighborhood in the meantime. See if anybody recognizes the little angel."

Oh. That actually made a lot of sense.

Tony chatted with a few of the local residents while Steve formulated a plan of attack with the rest of the team. There was rubble from three different buildings to sort through, but that wasn't as important as actually getting some of the bigger chunks of concrete out of the streets. The rebuilding effort was going to be done by professionals. Steve and the team were really just the muscle.

Pepper arrived with Tony's briefcase suit clutched in her hand fifteen minutes later. She almost dropped it when she saw the baby.

"Oh my god," Pepper said. "You really do have a baby. A human baby. I thought you were talking about one of your robots."

"Not this time." Tony eased the carrier off his back and let Pepper take the baby into her arms.

"Oh, she's a little doll," Pepper said. "Somebody's bound to be missing you, aren't they?"

The baby giggled and yanked on a hunk of Pepper's hair.

Tony winced. "Uh, maybe you should do that thing with your hair where you put it up."

"A bun?" Pepper asked, her mouth twisted with amusement.

"Yeah, that thing. Keep it out of temptation." He cleared his throat. "I brought a diaper bag with some supplies. A couple diapers, a bottle, an extra-"

"I've got it," Pepper said with a smile. "Go on and help your team. The sooner you get your work done, the sooner you get to play with the baby again."

"Right," Tony said. He stepped into the suit. "Come on, guys. Let's get 'er done."

It turned out that all their fears were unfounded. Tony threw himself into the work like he threw himself into battles. Which meant he tried to take on all the work on his own, his suit struggling a little as he lifted more weight than he really should. Steve was busy directing Thor and Hulk, but he tried to help Tony out as often as possible.

By noon, they were in better shape than Steve had hoped. Well over half of the street had already been cleared. The sidewalk was still a mess, but by the end of the day, it seemed likely that the street could be reopened for traffic.

Pepper was standing with the baby a little further down the block, safely out of harm's way, but she walked up as Thor bellowed loud enough for everyone to hear that they could cease their work and have lunch.

"Stephy," Tony cooed, scooping the baby into his arms. "Were you good for Auntie Pepper?"

"So good," Pepper said. "She's adorable."

"Any luck with the parents?"

Pepper shook her head. "If they live in the area, they really haven't spent any time socializing with their neighbors. Nobody recognized her."

"Probably from out of state or something," Tony said. "Just passing through when disaster struck. What a shame."

"I'll keep trying," Pepper said. "If the parents stopped for coffee along the way, one of the workers might recognize the baby. It'd be hard to forget a baby this cute."

"Good work, Pep," Tony said, relinquishing the baby back into her arms. "That's why I pay you the big bucks."

"That's why I pay myself the big bucks. I'm in charge, remember?" She nudged Tony with her hip. "Get back to work."

Tony saluted. "You're the boss, boss."

Wow. If Steve had told Tony to get back to work, they would have quickly descended into one of their legendary arguments. He envied the easy rapport she had with him.

But then again, they had a long history together. It would take a lot of time before he'd be able to tease Tony like that and have him not take offense.

However long it took, Steve was willing to make the effort.

"Hey, fearless leader. You're slacking."

Steve blinked. Right. He was never going to make friends by standing around and daydreaming. It was time for him to get back to work, too.

They really were making excellent progress on the work. Clint and Natasha had collected a large pile of framed pictures and other keepsakes from the damaged buildings that their owners would surely be happy to have back. And the street was almost completely clear of debris.

By three p.m., Steve decided that they had done enough work for one day and dismissed the team.

"Avengers, disassemble!" Thor shouted.

The bystanders along the street applauded and a few even came up to them to thank them for helping.

"Just doing our duty, ma'am," Steve told an especially effusive middle-aged woman who clung to him and cried about what a difference they were making for the neighborhood.

"You sound like just the woman I want to see," Tony said, sliding in between her and Steve.

Steve frowned. "Tony, that's not-"

"This is your neighborhood, right?" Tony asked intently. "You're a regular of the coffee shop, live down the block, that sort of thing, right?"

"Well, yes," the woman said reluctantly, her eyes flicking back to Steve. "I was just telling Captain Rogers that I appreciate the fine work you've all done here."

"Excellent. I knew I was right about you." Tony flashed her one of his press smiles. "So, in return for all the help we've done, maybe you can help me out with a little information."

The woman shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I don't really think I need to-"

"We're trying to locate the parents of a baby girl," Steve said. "Any help you can give us would be greatly appreciated."

"Oh!" the woman said. "Oh, yes of course. Anything I can do to help."

"Great," Tony said. "Pepper, c'mere. Let the lady have a look at Stephy."

Steve rolled his eyes and went back to mingling with the rest of the public, listening to their relieved thanks and assuring them they would return to help again in the even of another attack, but that the Battering Ram was safely behind bars now and wouldn't bother them again.

When he returned, Tony was talking about stuffed animals while the woman cooed over the baby.

"Any luck?" Steve asked pointedly.

"Oh yes," the woman said quickly. "I recognize her. I see her almost everyday." She frowned. "I can't tell you who the parents are. It's always a different woman pushing her stroller." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "They must be some of those rich folk with more money than brains."

"Thanks for the help," Tony said with exaggerated enthusiasm. "I think the baby's due for another nap." He settled Stephy back into the baby carrier and darted away.

"Yes, thanks," Steve said. "You've been very helpful. If you'll excuse me, we need to get back to the Tower to debrief."

He felt a little bad about leaving the woman so abruptly, but something about how quickly Tony ran off was bothering him.

Tony was halfway down the block, muttering furiously to himself when Steve finally caught up with him.

"Hey, wait up," Steve called out."Tony, what's the matter?"

"Nannies," Tony said scornfully. "What kind of parents can't raise their own child?"

"Tony, you don't know-"

"Oh, I know," Tony said bitterly. "There was Jarvis the butler, who was admittedly awesome and spent more time with me than dear old dad ever did. Then there was Miss Stella every Monday and Wednesday, Miss Katie on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Mrs. Jones on the weekends. And when I got a little older, there were the private tutors to make sure I lived up to the Stark family name at boarding school."

Steve was taken aback. "Tony, I didn't-"

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and tell me my dad loved me and was just trying to give me every opportunity to succeed. But if he really loved me, he would have spent time with me."

"I'm sorry, Tony," Steve said. "Howard must have changed a lot since the days when I knew him."

Tony shrugged. "Neither one of them really wanted a kid. So, I'm sure it would have been a lot easier on everybody if I had never been born."

Steve grasped Tony's shoulders. "Don't think like that. We're all glad that you're here, Tony."

Tony opened his mouth to protest, but then the baby started wailing. "Well, your little pep talk will have to wait. Later, Cap."

Steve sighed as Tony pushed past him and strode briskly towards the Tower.

Nothing he did seemed to make any difference. It was always one step forward, two steps back.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony had to have immediately locked himself back down in his lab when they got back because Steve couldn't find him and when asked, Jarvis said only that Tony didn't want to be disturbed at the moment. Steve hated to leave him alone in such a state. Everyone knew about Tony's terrible coping strategies when he was left to his own devices. But since Jarvis refused to let Steve see him, there was nothing more he could do.

He was awake for most of the night worrying about Tony. By sunrise, he gave up on sleep altogether and decided to go for a run to clear his head.

Central Park was his favorite place to run laps when he really needed to stop thinking, especially in the fall when the trees were so beautiful. All his frustrations usually faded to the back of his mind as he admired the scenery.

It wasn't working so well this morning. In addition to the usual early morning joggers, there were a few ladies pushing strollers. And every time he passed one of them, the feelings of helplessness came flooding right back.

He finally gave up after another six miles and gradually slowed to a walk. To his surprise, there was a familiar figure sitting on a bench by the park entrance.

"Tony? What are you doing here?"

Tony waved to him with coffee in hand. "Just out for a walk with the baby. I figure if she gets taken out for a walk everyday, I might as well keep up the same routine."

"You don't have to do that. Natasha and I are morning people. We'd be happy to take the baby out while you sleep in a little longer."

Tony snorted. "Right. Because I should be just like Stephy's parents and have everyone else do the parenting for me."

"That's not what I meant and you know it. We're just trying to help you out."

"I don't need your help."

Steve gritted his teeth. "Would you just listen to me for a second? You can't do everything on your own. And that doesn't make you a bad parent. It's no big deal if Pepper watches the baby every so often. And it'll be no big deal if Natasha takes the baby out some morning when you're really tired."

"Not gonna happen," Tony said. "Sleep is for the weak."

"Even you have to sleep sometime. And if you keep pushing yourself and not getting any rest, you're going to end up passing out. And how are you going to be there for the baby when that happens?"

Tony frowned. "I can do this. I'm a bona fide superhero, after all. And if I can't do a simple thing like take care of a baby for a few days, I need to get my title revoked."

Steve shrugged. "I wouldn't be able to do it all on my own. I'd take the baby in, of course, but I'd count on the rest of you to help me figure things out. There's no shame in asking for help when you need it. It's only a problem if you never try in the first place."

"Fine," Tony said. "We'll do it your way. I'll assign you all chores to help out and then you can all whine about how I'm lazy and just making you do the boring stuff so I don't have to."

"I'm not going to complain," Steve said. "The army wasn't all fun and games, you know. In between getting shot at, there was a lot of tedious tasks that needed to get done."

"Alright then, army boy. I'm putting you on kitchen duty. See how you like that."

If Tony thought he was punishing him, it really wasn't working. Steve once had to spend an entire afternoon peeling potatoes for all the men in boot camp. So doing a little cooking was no big deal.

Once they got home, Tony grabbed a bag of produce out of the fridge and shoved it into his hands. "Start getting this ready," he said brusquely.

Steve arranged the sweet potatoes and squash on the cutting board and began peeling them and cutting them into cubes. Tony moved in beside him and began slicing carrots.

"Aw, how cute," Clint said. "You two are so domestic."

"Back off, Barton," Tony growled.

"Jesus. Who spit in your cereal?"

"I wouldn't mess with him," Steve warned. "Tony's not in a great mood this morning."

Clint unfolded the newspaper. "This should cheer him up. You made the local news section, Tony. And so did the baby."

Steve smiled at the image. The other Avengers were in the background of the picture, leaning against street posts or sitting down on chunks of concrete to eat their lunch. But Tony was front and center, proudly posing with the baby strapped to his back.

"Excellent," Tony said. "That's one way to get the word out."

"Early yesterday morning, the Avengers team returned to Winchester Street, one of the areas previously destroyed by an attack from an individual known as the Battering Ram, to aid in the rebuilding," Clint read. "In addition to the Avengers, present CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, was observed on scene with an infant, rumored to be Mr. Stark's own child. Is America's favorite couple finally reconnecting?" He trailed off with a grimace, and cast a sidelong look at Tony.

It had been almost a year since Pepper and Tony's breakup, but it was still a little bit of a sore subject.

"I thought this was supposed to be the local news, not a tabloid," Tony muttered. He sliced through the next carrot with a little more force. "And Pepper better be telling those idiots it's not our baby. How the heck do they expect a beta woman and an omega man to have a baby? Morons."

Steve winced as Tony came dangerously close to chopping off his own finger. "Mind if I take over for a bit?"

Tony threw the knife down on the counter. "Sure, go ahead. You're obviously way better at this than I am, Mr. Perfect. I'll be down in my lab where I actually know what I'm doing." And he stormed out of the kitchen.

"What the hell was that all about?" Clint asked.

Steve shook his head. "He gets a little unreasonable when he's had a couple sleepless nights."

Just as he feared, Tony was already running himself ragged.

Steve dumped all the vegetables into a pot and steamed them while he ate his breakfast. Tony would tell him what he wanted done next.

But even after several hours, Tony didn't return to the kitchen.

At noon, Steve put together a peace offering of a peanut butter and raspberry jam sandwich and headed down to the lab.

He was pleased when the door slid open for him immediately. At least Tony hadn't locked himself in today. It was a step in the right direction.

"Tony, I brought you-" He came to a halt at the sight of the man in question slumped over his desk, his head resting on the computer keyboard.

Steve debated moving him."Is it going to mess up whatever Tony's working on if he touches the wrong key?"

"No, Captain. According to protocol, I shut off all power tools and pause any simulations when Sir is no longer functioning coherently."

"That's good to hear." He wandered over to the playpen and peered in. The baby was grabbing onto her feet and trying to stuff them in her mouth, so Steve supposed that would keep her occupied for a little while.

He frowned down at the plate in his hand, feeling a little foolish. He should have asked if Tony wanted any lunch before putting it together.

"You may put the sandwich in the lab fridge," Jarvis said. "Sir will likely be hungry when he wakes up and will appreciate having something prepared for him."

Steve opened the fridge and stared for a moment at all the containers of applesauce, baby yogurt, and homemade puree. "Or maybe not." It was hard to see a spot where he'd be able to stick a plate of leftovers.

"My apologies, Captain. I will remind Sir to organize a little more efficiently in the future."

"No, it's okay. I'll just set it down right here." A peanut butter and jelly sandwich ought to be fine sitting out for an hour or two. He placed the plate down gently beside the computer, but Tony still jerked his head upwards.

Steve winced. "Sorry. Didn't meant to wake you."

Tony groaned and scrubbed at his face with one hand. "Jarvis? How long was I out?"

"Two hours, sir."

"Oh." Tony yawned and blinked a few times. "That was a nice long nap."

Steve had the sudden urge to stroke Tony's hair. He couldn't help it. He had seen Tony stumbling bleary-eyed into the kitchen after a sleepless night plenty of times. But he had never seen him look this sleepy. It was frankly kind of adorable.

He convinced himself to settle his hands on Tony's shoulders and gently squeezed. "I wouldn't think a keyboard would make a very good pillow."

"Nope," Tony agreed, arching back into his touch. "Oh god, that feels good."

Steve smiled. "Besides really stiff, how are you feeling?"

"Much better." Tony smiled sheepishly. "For the record, you were kind of right about the sleep thing."

Steve rubbed Tony's back. "You're going to do great with the baby. But we'll be there to take care of all the little things so you don't get overwhelmed. Being a single parent is hard, you know. I still don't know how my mother managed."

"I forgot about your mom," Tony muttered. "That makes a little more sense now."

"What does?"

Tony waved a hand absently. "Nothing. Thanks for lunch, Cap." He grabbed hold of the sandwich and took a large bite.

"You're welcome," Steve said. "If you need anything else, let me know."

Tony stretched luxuriously. "Nah, I think we're all good here. The bots have been keeping Stephy entertained."

"Dummy seems to like her," Steve observed. The robot was bent over the playpen, beeping excitedly as the baby kicked her feet.

"No, Dummy," Tony said sternly. "Look, don't touch."

Dummy whirred sadly and rolled back a few inches.

"Yeah, I know. Life is so unfair."

Tony shook his head and gave Steve a sidelong look. "The idiot thinks he can hold the baby. Fat chance. I've seen him split tennis balls when he gets excited."

Dummy zoomed across the lab to Tony's side with a high-pitched beep and then darted around the desk, claw opening and closing reflexively.

"Shoot," Tony said. "Shouldn't have said the magic word." He made a shooing motion at the robot. "No, Dummy. If I give you a toy, then everyone else will want one, too."

There was a hopeful chirp from the corner of the room.

"No, You," Tony growled. "I wasn't talking to you...oh, forget it. Toys for everybody!"

Steve grinned as the room erupted in a cacophony of beeps, whistles, squeals, and chirps. Tony might talk tough, but it was clear just how much he loved his bots and how much they loved him in return.

Tony opened the cupboard under his desk and gently lobbed three tennis balls into the lab. The robots immediately scrambled after them, knocking into benches and tables as they clumsily reached for the balls.

"Don't you dare break anything!" Tony shouted after them.

Butterfingers punctured his tennis ball with his claw and then spent a few moments wildly gyrating in an attempt to shake it off. You managed to get tangled up in some wiring as he chased a ball under one of the tables. And Dummy had managed to squeeze his tennis ball hard enough to crack it open the second he clamped his claw around it. He made a distressed sound as he prodded the broken halves. But after a giggle from the baby, he zoomed back over to the playpen, ball quickly forgotten.

Steve burst out laughing.

Tony sank back into his chair and put his hand over his eyes. "I swear to god," he muttered. "It's like raising a pack of feral dogs."

Steve ruffled Tony's hair. "Well, you've done a pretty good job, considering."

Tony peered at him between his fingers. "You think so?"

"I know so."

Tony's bright smile made it all worth it.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few days fell into a comfortable routine. Steve went for a run in the park early every morning and Tony arrived right when he was starting to slow down. Together, they walked another lap with the baby and then stopped at one of the coffee shops close by.

It was nice to spend a little time with Tony every day. Especially time when they weren't arguing.

They weren't any closer to finding the baby's parents, but Steve was surprisingly okay with that. The baby's parents were probably sick with worry by now, but it was hard to think about that when Tony was practically glowing with happiness. They were still doing everything they could to locate the parents, of course. Steve would have felt guilty for giving up. But if he was a little relieved that Tony had another day with the baby, well, that was his business.

The baby seemed to be good for Tony. He still spent a few hours down in the workshop in the afternoons, but he was starting to spend more and more time on the common floor with the rest of the team, especially around mealtimes.

Steve had always been concerned by the fact that Tony seemed to survive for several days at a time on coffee and energy drinks, so it was a relief to see Tony actually eating. He had tried to check up on Tony every so often and bring him a sandwich or a muffin, but it was better to have Tony eating at the table with everyone else.

After their morning outings, Tony could usually be convinced to eat a piece of toast or a bagel while he fed the baby. And sometimes, Tony would even cook up some scrambled eggs and bacon, which was shocking to Steve at first because he had never seen Tony cook and had assumed he didn't know what he was doing. But he should have known better. Tony was making homemade baby food every morning.

Steve sat at the kitchen counter with his glass of orange juice and smiled as he watched Tony work.

Clint wandered in and blinked in surprise. "Are you seriously making baby food yourself? You have jars in the pantry."

Tony scoffed. "Those are just for the out-of-season fruits like blueberries and raspberries. Fresh fruit and vegetables have way more vitamins than the stuff in the jar. And it tastes better, too. And there's only so many flavors of baby food. I want Stephy to have variety in her diet. Only the best for my baby."

"She's not actually your baby, you know."

Tony gave him a long look. "I'm taking care of her and that means she's as good as mine right now. You think I'd give her junk just because I didn't give birth to her?"

Clint put up his hands defensively. "Not what I meant, man."

Tony snorted and spooned more pureed cantaloupe into a Tupperware. "Yeah, well, I'm going to experiment with all the foods I can find so I can figure out what Stephy likes. So far, she's into blueberries, bananas, carrots, and sweet potatoes, but she's really not a fan of green beans." He frowned at the container. "This better go down in the lab." He put a hand on Steve's shoulder as he passed the counter. "You look a little sleepy today. You should have another cup of coffee."

"Wow," Clint said, as soon as Tony was out of the kitchen."I didn't know Tony actually had omega instincts."

"Of course he does," Steve said immediately. "You haven't seen him with his bots. They all have their own personalities and he treats them like they're his children. In a way, I guess they are."

"Uh-huh," Clint said dubiously.

"And if you think about it, he takes care of us, too. He's always upgrading our weapons and armor and making sure we have everything we could ever want. We're his family now."

"You've got it bad," Natasha said from the doorway.

Steve frowned. "I've got what?"

Clint snickered. "You've got a thing for Tony, don't you? A nice little omega you can call your own?"

Steve felt his face heat. "We're friends," he insisted.

Clint thumped him on the back. "It's simple biology. The omega in him brings out the alpha in you."

"That's not how this works."

"Right," Natasha said with a secretive smile. "So, you're denying that you like this side of Tony?"

"Of course I like to see him happy," Steve said firmly. "He deserves a little happiness in his life."

"Keep telling yourself that," Clint said.

Somehow, Steve had the feeling that the two of them weren't going to let it go.

His suspicions were proven right the next morning when he awoke to his alarm blaring "I Won't Say I'm in Love".

And when he stumbled into the kitchen, Natasha and Clint were sitting around the counter giggling into their coffee.

Steve crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay, what did you do to my clock?"

"Nothing," Natasha said. But her sly smile wasn't very convincing.

"Fix it."

"Ask Tony. He's better with technology than I am."

Clint snickered.

Steve scowled. Of course he couldn't ask Tony's help. And they knew that.

"Since you did it, you need to fix it."

Natasha shook her head. "It's a good song. And maybe if you hear it every morning, you'll finally wake up and admit your feelings to yourself."

"You two think you're so clever, don't you? But you can't force people to fall in love. So, just stop it, okay?"

He channeled his frustration with the two spies into his morning run, pushing himself a good ten miles before Tony arrived at the park. But the aggravation was still there, under the surface. And he didn't realize how much of his anger was really showing through until Tony touched his shoulder and asked if he was okay.

"I'm fine," Steve said. "Just a little tired." Tired of the drama really, but Tony didn't need to know that.

Tony shook his head. "You're not at your best when you don't get enough rest. You should take a nap when we get home."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Are you really lecturing me about the importance of sleep?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "You can laugh now, but I'll be the one laughing when you fall asleep in the middle of your afternoon workout. And I'll be taking pictures."

Steve wasn't too proud to listen to advice, especially coming from Tony. The man was terrible at taking care of himself, but he had become surprisingly intuitive to everyone else's needs. So, if Tony thought taking a nap would help, Steve was going to take a nap.

He lay in bed for a few minutes, staring up at the ceiling. "Jarvis, would you be willing to wake me up tomorrow morning so I don't have to use my alarm clock?"

"Certainly, Captain. Five a.m. as usual?"

"Perfect. Thanks, Jarvis." He threw the alarm clock at the wall, gratified by the way it instantly smashed into pieces.

He felt a little better the next morning woken up by Jarvis' gentle, "Captain, it is now 5 a.m. It is time to wake up" instead of loud, blaring music. But his mood dropped again over breakfast. Clint and Natasha spent most of the time making faces at him across the table. Natasha fluttered her eyelashes and Clint made kissy faces and jerked his thumb in Tony's direction.

Luckily, Tony seemed completely oblivious to the whole thing. He was too invested in feeding the baby to really pay attention to anything else.

After breakfast, Steve was eager to get away from them, but Clint grasped his arm before he could head out of the kitchen. "You seem a little stressed. And there's no better form of stress relief than video games."

"Call of Duty is still outlawed," Tony warned without looking up from his cereal.

Steve sighed. The last time Bucky had been over for a visit, he had had one of his panic attacks after watching Clint and Tony play. It would probably be another month before he would work up the courage to return to the Tower, but nobody wanted to take the chance of freaking him out again.

Clint shrugged. "We'll play something mild. Just in case."

Steve let himself be dragged into the den and pushed down onto the couch. He took up his controller, still feeling aggravated by the whole thing.

"Come on, Cap," Clint said. "This is supposed to be a fun game. Lighten up."

"How am I supposed to have fun when you keep teasing me?"

"We're just trying to help you out."

"I don't want your help," Steve ground out. He swung the Wii controller in a wide arc. It wasn't as satisfying as hitting a punching bag, but it would do for now.

"Jesus. Take it easy with that thing."

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw Tony wander into the room, muttering to himself. Clint nudged him in the side, but Steve refused to look up.

"You're no fun," Clint sighed. He tapped a few buttons on the controller and brought up another game. "This is a good one. What do you say, Steve?"

"Whatever."

Clint rolled his eyes. "Maybe you'll have a better time if your boyfriend plays with us."

Steve's eyes flicked to Tony, who had been examining the bookcase for the last fifteen minutes.

"Yep, that's a great idea," Clint said cheerfully. "Hey, Tony. Come play a couple rounds."

Tony turned, the baby slung low in his arms.

Clint winced. "Sorry, man. Didn't see you had Steph."

"No, it's cool. I'm the master of multitasking." Tony settled down on the couch and adjusted the baby on his lap. "So, what are we playing anyway?"

"Mario Party. You can play one-handed, right?"

The baby wrapped both hands around the Wiimote and tried to jam it in her mouth.

"No, no, no, sweetheart." Tony gently pried it out of her hands. "Yeah, sure. There's a couple easy games I could play."

They went through the list of mini games and picked out all the ones that didn't require swinging the Wiimote too vigorously. They were mostly puzzle games, but Steve was better at those anyway.

And eventually, he started to enjoy playing. Somewhere along the way, Clint had wandered off to get a snack and hadn't come back so it was just Tony. Steve was surprised when Bruce poked his head in the room to announce that he had made chili if anyone was ready for lunch.

Tony stretched and got to his feet, balancing the baby back on his hip. "Not bad for your first try," he said with a grin.

Steve snorted. "If you recall, I beat you a few times."

"And if you recall, I was playing one-handed."

"Excuses, excuses."

Tony's eyes gleamed. "So, you beat me once or twice. That doesn't mean a thing."

"How about a rematch, then? Right after lunch."

"Perfect," Tony said. "Let me put down the baby for her afternoon nap and then I am all yours, Cap."

Steve grinned. "Bring it on."

It was hard to believe that playing video games could be so draining, but after dueling with Tony off and on throughout the day, Steve was left with the well-worn feeling of satisfaction that usually only came after a heavy workout. After the late evening session of Super Smash Bros, Steve was ready to call it a night.

It felt like he had barely fallen asleep when he was roughly shaken awake. He blinked at the figure standing beside the bed.

"Tony? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Tony took a deep breath. "I'm going into heat."

Steve's eyes widened. "You actually have heats?"

He cursed his stupidity. Of course Tony would have heats. He was an omega, for crying out loud. But Steve had always assumed Tony was on suppressants because in all the time he had been at the Tower, he had never actually seen him go through a heat cycle.

Tony smiled nervously. "It came as a surprise to me, too. I haven't had a heat in a year."

"A year?" Steve repeated incredulously. "Aren't you supposed to go into heat-"

"Every two or three months, yeah." Tony drummed his fingers over the arc reactor. "But after all the years of partying, the shit that went down in Afghanistan, and then the palladium poisoning, well, let's just say my body's gotten pretty fucked up over the years."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"It's nothing. Just a hormone imbalance."

"Can't you get that fixed?"

"Look," Tony said quickly. "I don't wanna talk right now. Just, oh my god this is the worst timing ever, but I need your help."

"Whatever you need" Steve said. "Want me to call someone?"

Tony shook his head. "There isn't anybody. I just need you to fuck me, okay? You're not a virgin, are you? Please tell me you're not a virgin."

Steve grasped Tony's shoulders. "Relax. I know what I'm doing. I used to help Bucky through his heats back when he was..."

Well, back when he was a fully functional omega. Back before the monsters at Hydra started experimenting on him. Bucky might one day recover from all the psychological trauma, but he'd never be able to have children and would probably never go through heat again.

"Cap?" Tony prodded.

Steve shook himself. When he looked up, Tony was sitting at the foot of his bed, stark naked.

Well then.

Steve shed his pajama pants and pressed Tony down against the bed. He didn't smell as strong as omegas usually did in heat, but Steve could see the need in his glassy eyes and the sheen of sweat on his skin.

Tony wrapped his legs around Steve's waist and pulled him closer."Oh, Steve," he said in awed voice. "You're so big." He shifted a little and his eyes fluttered shut. "Just what I needed."

Steve stroked Tony's thigh. "Whatever you need," he repeated.

His mother had taught him how to be a good alpha. Heats were all about the omega. His own desires came second. So he listened to Tony's pleas for more, faster, harder until the genius cried out and came.

Tony sagged back against the bed with a contented sigh.

"Feel okay?"

"For now." He yawned. "Can I stay here the night just in case?"

"Of course," Steve said.

"Ah, you're awesome." Tony snuggled into his chest and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Steve caught himself before he brushed a hand over Tony's cheek. It was just heat sex, he reminded himself. It didn't mean anything for Tony.


	5. Chapter 5

"Sir! Wake up, sir!"

Steve jerked awake. "What's the emergency, Jarvis?"

The bed dipped as Tony stretched out beside him. "Not an emergency. That's the Stephy alarm. Sadly, she seems to be a morning person. She's been waking up at 4 a.m. every day." He frowned. "I should have thought about that before I spent the night."

"No big deal," Steve said. "Want me to get her? I would have gotten up in an hour anyway."

"Nah. I'm used to it now." Tony tossed off the covers and slid out of bed. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Are you sure you don't want me to go instead? You're still in heat." He gestured to Tony's crotch.

Tony looked down. "Oh. Well, we'll take care of that later. The baby comes first." He swept the sheets off the bed and wrapped them around himself. "You better be raring to go when I get back."

Steve sighed and put a hand over his eyes. This was just the level of weirdness he should have expected from Tony.

"Sir will be a few minutes," Jarvis said. "You're welcome to rest until his return."

"Thanks, Jarvis. Wake me up when he gets back."

But he woke instead to hot breath against his neck and a tongue tracing the shell of his ear.

Steve frowned and squirmed out of Tony's reach. "What was that for?"

"Aha," Tony said, his eyes fever-bright. "I knew that would get you up."

Steve pulled Tony down onto the bed with him. "Everything settled?"

Tony nodded."Nat's going to take the baby for her walk today. As she said, people are more likely to approach a woman with a baby than a man. Because people are idiots and don't realize how scary she is."

"Don't worry," Steve said. "We'll find the baby's parents eventually. In the meantime, let's focus on you."

Tony's eyes darkened and he shifted to straddle Steve's waist. "I like the way you think, Stevie. Let's do this."

Steve let Tony take charge and do whatever he wanted. He was a little surprised by how much kissing there was. Tony kissed like he was desperate for it. And maybe he was. Steve knew some omegas who felt so empty during a heat that they needed their partner's every touch.

"You're good," Tony panted after they separated. "I am definitely coming to you from now on."

It was flattering for Tony to pick him specifically to get him through his heats, but then again, he and Natasha were the team's alphas. And alphas had better stamina to last through intense heats.

"I'll be here whenever you need me," Steve promised. From what Tony had told him last night, he wouldn't need him again for another year, but at least Steve had this heat with Tony and he was going to be grateful for that.

Tony yawned and snuggled into Steve's side. "You're so warm. Just like a nice latte."

"I could bring you one if you want. You'll have to keep your energy up for the next couple days."

Tony waved a hand dismissively. "It's probably not going to be that bad. I haven't had a true heat in years." His mouth twisted in a self-deprecating smile. "I'm basically just a slut for a day or so."

Steve frowned. "Don't talk about yourself that way."

"Well, it's true. You would have never known I was in heat unless I told you. I don't have those lovely pheromones that bring all the alphas to the yard. I did when I was younger though." Tony's expression became distant. "I had six or seven alphas fighting over me one time. So I slept with all of them and woke up hating myself the next morning."

Steve stroked Tony's shoulder. "It's your business who you go through your heat with. If you need more than one partner to satisfy you, so be it. Nobody should judge you. It's your body and only you know what you need."

Tony stared at him a long moment. "Jesus. Where were you twenty years ago?"

Steve grinned. "In the ice."

Tony shoved him. "Smartass. You owe me breakfast now."

"Of course. Coffee, coffee, and more coffee?"

Tony laced his hands behind his head. "And a slice of coffee cake. And a banana. And maybe a piece of toast. Oh, and some of those little breakfast sausages."

"I'm going to need to bring up the entire kitchen," Steve grumbled good-naturedly. It was a good sign that Tony was eating. Omegas tended to burn a lot of calories during a heat so they needed to eat a lot more than usual to keep their strength up.

Natasha was in the kitchen feeding the baby green puree when Steve walked in.

"I hope those aren't green beans," he said.

"No, avocado. It's weird, but Stephy seems to like it."

"Huh." Steve said. "Only Tony would think of avocado baby food." He grabbed a couple slices of toast and stuck them in the toaster.

"Did Tony tell you he wasn't feeling well this morning?" Natasha asked. "I hope you weren't looking for him at the park."

"Oh, I know," Steve said. "I told him to stay in bed while I got him breakfast."

"Well, I hope he feels better soon. He's smart to stay away from the baby while he's sick, but I'm sure he must be missing her already."

"Well, you know how Tony is," Steve said. He reached around her to get a slice of coffee cake.

Natasha frowned at all the food piled on the plate. "Are you sure he doesn't want something a little lighter?"

"Oh no, this is mostly for me," Steve said quickly. "I'm going to sit up with him and make sure he eats his, uh, toast."

Her lips curved into a smile. "I see. Well, good luck."

Yeah, it wasn't such a great idea to try and keep secrets from Natasha. She had a way of finding out everything. But if Tony wanted to pretend he was sick, Steve was going to keep up the charade as best he could.

Tony was still curled up in bed when he returned, squeezing Steve's pillow in his arms.

"You still hungry?" Steve asked. "Or do you want to go back to sleep for a bit?"

"No, I'm fine." Tony sat up in bed surveyed the plate. "So, you brought all the food I asked for, but you didn't bring me my baby. What's the matter with you, Steve? You're throwing that poor child to the wolves."

Steve gave him a sidelong look. "Natasha was under the impression that you're ill, so she was gong to take Stephy for the day so she doesn't get sick, too."

"Damn it," Tony muttered.

"You should have just told her you were in heat. Heats are nothing to be ashamed of, you know."

Tony sighed. "But if I'm fine tomorrow, I'll have to hear how it wasn't really a heat, just an excuse to get you to sleep with me."

"Nobody is going to think that," Steve assured him.

It hurt to think that Tony didn't trust the team to support him. It hurt even worse to think that somebody must have said something like that to Tony in the past. And nobody should ever make an omega feel like they were less of a person because of the intensity of their heats. Even back in the 40s, that was unacceptable thought.

"You can't guarantee that," Tony insisted. "I have a reputation for sleeping around."

"Nobody is going to say one word to you about faking a heat," Steve said firmly. "And I know that because they're our friends. We all care about you, Tony. We tease you sometimes and give you hell about how much time you spend in the lab, but we mean well. We're a family now and that means we're going to take care of you and defend you against all the horrible things people have been saying about you."

Tony leaned into him. "Thanks, Steve. You're a saint."

Steve stroked Tony's shoulder. "This is how everyone's supposed to treat you. And I think you'll find that the rest of the team thinks the same way. So, are you willing to admit you're in heat so you can spend a little time with the baby in between bouts?"

"Okay, fine. I'm ready for my miraculous recovery." He hooked his arms around Steve's neck. "But only if you carry me."

Steve scooped Tony into his arms. For such a larger-than-life personality, Tony was a lot lighter than Steve expected. With Tony's arms hooked around his neck, he could easily carry him one-handed to open doors and press buttons on the elevator.

He glanced at his watch. Everyone would probably be done with breakfast by now, but it was still early enough that everyone was probably still hanging around the Tower. So, the first place to look would be the den.

In the den, the baby was sitting in the middle of the floor banging blocks together while Natasha sat close by on the couch reading.

She glanced up briefly. "Tony suckered you into carrying him, did he?" She shook her head and turned another page in her book. "He's not that sick."

Steve deposited Tony onto the loveseat across from her. "He's in heat."

Natasha smiled. "What an interesting turn of events."

"It's been such a long time, I forgot what heat feels like," Tony said quickly.

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't call him out on the obvious lie.

Tony hunched his shoulders. "It's kind of like being sick. You're feverish and achy and then after you have sex, you feel so much better. But then you're achy again."

"I'll make you a cup of parsley tea," Natasha said. "It's a good muscle relaxant."

"Parsley tea?" Tony frowned. "It's going to be one of those gross things, isn't it?"

"Parsley is not gross. It's good for you."

Steve smiled as Natasha shepherded Tony into the kitchen. Omegas were good at taking care of a family, but a good alpha knew how to take care of an omega. And Tony needed to see that Natasha was one of the good ones. Steve didn't want to be the only person Tony ever trusted. He liked spending time with Tony, but omegas were always happier when they connected with all the people around them.

So Steve took a seat on the loveseat and just listened to Natasha and Tony's playful bickering.

Tony returned, clutching his mug of tea. He sighed theatrically and sprawled across Steve on the loveseat. "I hate heats."

Steve stroked his hair. "You could go on suppressants, you know."

Tony sighed. "I know. But I've been told that could fu-" he glanced furtively at the baby, "screw up my hormones even worse. I might completely lose my sex drive."

"Not worth it," Steve agreed.

Tony frowned thoughtfully and then slid off the couch to play with the baby. "Hey, Stephy. Did you miss Momma this morning?"

There was no denying the way the baby lit up around Tony. The baby probably couldn't recognize her own mother after all the time cycling though nannies, but she sure recognized Tony.

From across the room, Natasha stared at him knowingly.

He shook his head. It just wasn't going to happen.

She rolled her eyes. "Men," she said scornfully and disappeared back into the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Tony asked.

"No idea," Steve said. "So, feeling any better?"

Tony nodded eagerly and wrapped the baby in his arms. "I'm pretty sure I'll be able to take my little girl out tomorrow morning." He rubbed noses with the baby. "Oh, you're going to be so excited to have Mommy back, aren't you?"

The baby squealed and reached out to touch Tony's face.

Tony kissed her fingers. "Oh, I missed you too, baby."

Steve shifted uncomfortably. He was beginning to feel like he was intruding on a private bonding moment between the two of them. But there was no way he could leave Tony alone at the moment.

"You can go hit the gym," Tony said. "I'll be fine down in the lab for a few hours."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. You need to make up for your morning run."

Steve sighed. "Tony, I don't need to-"

"Couple hours, Steve. Go. I don't need you hovering over me all day."

Steve felt bad about how easily he accepted the chance to leave. But Tony was right. His heats were much milder than usual, so they would both have plenty of time on their own before Tony's body really needed another round of sex.

And it would do them good to spend time apart. Tony obviously would rather spend time with the baby. And while Steve liked spending time with Tony, he really needed some time alone. He couldn't afford to get too attached to Tony.

They were friends, nothing more. Tony only wanted him to get him through his heat. And the sooner he got that through his head, the easier it would be.

He threw himself into his workout with a little more force than usual. The poor punching bags didn't stand a chance.

An hour later, Steve's phone rang and he took a seat against the wall, welcoming the break. "Hello?"

He was met with heavy breathing and a low whimper.

"Tony?"

"You better be ready to go right now," Tony said urgently. "I'm coming up to see you."

"I could come down to you," Steve offered.

"Absolutely not. I promised Jarvis I would never, ever, ever have sex down in the lab. I don't want to scar the bots for life."

The gym doors slid open and Tony rushed inside. He tackled Steve to the ground and straddled him on the mat, wide-eyed and desperate.

They had two more rounds after that, one just after noon and one at eight. Since the time between bouts had gotten pretty long, Tony went back to his own bed for the night.

Steve tried not to feel too disappointed. After all, he would see Tony again in the morning when they went for their walk. And that was going to have to be enough.

The next day dawned bright and sunny. Steve went for his usual run to start the day, but his morning routine didn't feel complete until Tony showed up with the baby.

The baby fell asleep three-quarters of the way along, which was pretty normal. After getting up at four, she tended to take a late-morning nap. And after the baby fell asleep, Tony moved on to discussing more adult topics with Steve.

Tony was in a good mood, rambling on about some kind of experimental body armor he was developing for the assassins. Steve didn't understand half of what he was talking about, but Tony was excited about it and just having someone listen to him talk about his success seemed to be enough.

They rounded the last corner and suddenly there a swarm of reporters snapping pictures and shouting, "Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark!"

Tony squeezed his eyes shut. "Goddamnit."

"You don't owe them an interview," Steve said under his breath.

"I know," Tony whispered back. Out loud, he said, "Nothing to see here, folks. Just going for a morning stroll with my baby. Let's all move along."

One eager young man shoved a microphone in Tony's face."Mr. Stark, there's been speculation that you and Miss Potts are the parents of this child. Can you confirm that?"

Tony snorted. "No, we're not her parents. She's just some random stranger's baby."

"What he means," Steve said quickly, "is that this baby was found in the rubble during our last mission and he's taking care of her until the parents are found."

He gave Tony a sidelong look. In all his years fielding press reports, Tony really should have known better than to say something so stupid in front of the paparazzi.

Tony plastered on a fake smile. "So, if you or anybody you know can help us locate the baby's parents, give us a call. You know where we are." He took a few steps towards the exit and then the reporters closed in around him again, each clamoring to have their questions heard.

"Mr. Stark, has anything been done to locate the baby's parents?"

"Have you considered adopting the child yourself if the parents aren't found?"

"Has it been a struggle for you with no previous parenting experience?"

And then the baby began to wail.

Tony cradled the baby against his chest and stroked her back. "Shh, it's okay. The nasty news people aren't going to bother you anymore." He glared daggers at the reporters. "Nice going, jerks. You just ruined Stephy's naptime. How does it feel to frighten a poor, innocent baby to get your story?"

Steve tugged Tony's arm. "Come on. Let's go home."

He pushed the stroller forward, parting the sea of reporters. Tony followed after him, rocking the baby in his arms and trying to soothe her. But the baby didn't really settle back down until they got back to the Tower.

Tony immediately dropped down onto the couch, the baby still snuggled into his chest. "Finally," he said quietly. "Poor Stephy."

"She'll be fine," Steve said. "They just startled her."

"Yeah." Tony stroked her head. "Still hate to hear her crying, though."

Natasha poked her head into the den. "Clint and I are out on the balcony playing cards with Thor. You want to put the baby down and come play a few hands?

"Nope," Tony said. "I'm going to hold her for a little while. She needs to be comforted after all that awfulness."

Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"We had a run-in with the media," Steve explained.

"Oops," she said.

"Seriously, Nat? You sicced the paparazzi on us? Not cool. I thought we were friends."

She shrugged. "I might have casually mentioned to a few people that you're in the park with the baby every morning. Isn't that what you've been doing? Spreading the news that the baby's with us?"

"And you just had to talk to the most annoying, loudmouth reporters you could find. Thanks a lot."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "I told a journalism major and-" Her phone buzzed. "Hold that thought." She picked it up and frowned."Bad news, guys." She held up the phone so they could all see.

On-screen was a text from Fury demanding to see them all in the conference room immediately.

The timing couldn't have been worse.

Tony sighed. "I'll call Pepper. Again."


	6. Chapter 6

Fury folded his arms over his chest and glowered at them. "Do you know why I called this meeting?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Because you want to yell at us for no good reason, like usual?"

"Oh, I've got a very good reason this time." He pulled up a news clip of Tony scolding the paparazzi for waking Stephy."Want to explain this disaster?"

"It's not my fault," Tony protested. "I wasn't prepared for Natasha's ninja friends to jump us. Seriously, those fuckers were jumping out of bushes."

"They really were," Steve said.

Fury pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't care what they did. You people are trained to handle supervillains and you let a few reporters get the best of you. I don't have time for shit like this."

"Look on the bright side," Tony said. "We got Stephy on the news."

"I don't see how that's going to help," Clint said. "Babies all kind of look the same."

"No, they don't," Tony argued. "Stephy is so much cuter than most babies."

Steve shrugged. He had seen some pretty ugly babies back in his day. So she was definitely better looking than all those wailing babies with red, scrunched faces.

"You could put Stephy in a line-up of fifty babies and I could still pick her out every time," Tony said confidently. "And I've only had her for a week." He elbowed Clint. "Fifty bucks says Stephy's parents will recognize her from that little bit of footage."

"The only thing they're going to recognize is that some fucking idiot has their baby," Fury growled.

Tony's shoulders slumped. "So they're probably going to hurry over and rescue Stephy from me, then."

"That's not fair," Steve objected. "Tony's been wonderful with the baby. The parents should really be grateful that he's been taking care of her."

"Well, I'm glad someone is," Fury said darkly. "Because I'm not. This aired an hour ago and I've had about fifty phone calls from assholes who think I should march on into your Tower and take the baby before they call Child Protective Services and arrest you for child endangerment."

"Hell no," Tony said indignantly. "They can't arrest me for anything. Stephy's safe with me."

Fury folded his arms over his chest. "The general public doesn't share your opinion."

"Then we just have to convince them otherwise," Steve said firmly. "We'll hold an Avengers press conference. The reporters can ask all the questions they want until they see that Tony knows what he's doing."

"Great," Fury said. "As long as it gets the fuckers off my back. I'm tired of cleaning up all your problems. I've got my own shit to take care of."

Steve rose from his seat. "Send word that we're on our way."

"Now?" Clint protested.

"Yes," Steve said firmly. "We're already assembled. Might as well get it over with."

"Absolutely," Fury said. "Now get the hell out of my office."

Steve marched resolutely towards the elevator. He didn't exactly like sitting through press conferences. The reporters had a way of catching him off-guard with certain questions about his personal life that made him feel like an awkward, gangly teenager again. But this time, it would be easier. He knew what all the questions would be about and he was ready for them.

Tony caught up to him in the hallway and smiled at him. "Thanks for having my back in there."

"Of course," Steve said. "I'll always have your back."

"You're really something else," Clint muttered as he pushed past them onto the elevator.

"What?" Tony said defensively. "I know how to thank people when they do me a favor. I'm not a total asshole, you know. I just play one on TV."

"We know that," Natasha said. "So don't play the asshole today. Just be yourself."

She had a bunch of other more specific tips for Tony. Things like not wearing the armor so he'd look more approachable and sitting in the middle of the table so it'd be clear that they all supported him. Steve tuned out most of it. As far as he was concerned, telling Tony to be himself was the only advice she needed to give him. If the press could see how genuinely Tony loved the baby, no one would question his ability to take care of her.

When they got downstairs, Maria Hill was finishing the press conference set-up. "I heard you volunteered for this one," she said.

Steve nodded. "That's right."

She eyed them suspiciously. "I usually have to drag you all in here kicking and screaming."

"This wasn't my idea," Clint said. "They made me-Ow! What the fuck, Nat?"

"Don't mind him," Natasha said serenely. "He forgets how we vouched for him after the Loki mind control debacle."

Clint frowned and rubbed the spot on his arm where Natasha pinched him. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"Nope. So, suck it up. We're here for Tony."

Steve grinned. It was really great to have her as the second alpha on the team.

The team settled into their spots at the table, with Natasha directly to Tony's left and Steve to his right. It was probably another one of Natasha's interview strategies to have Tony sitting right between the two alphas. A more united front, or something.

The press began trickling in, taking their seats in the rows of chairs Agent Hill had set up. There were close to a hundred seats and all of them were getting filled. Considering the size of the group that had ambushed them earlier that morning, Steve wasn't exactly surprised. For whatever reason, Tony taking care of a baby was the story of the hour.

"Thank you all for joining us," Tony said cheerfully once everyone was seated. "As, I'm sure you all know, I'm currently taking care of a baby we found in the aftermath of the Battering Ram mission. And since Agent Barton was the one to find her, he can fill you in on the details of the rescue."

Clint shot Tony a dirty look, but he explained how he had spotted the baby in the rubble and taken her into SHIELD.

"And as the team's omega, naturally I stepped in to look after her," Tony continued. "And that's that. Any questions?"

Of course there were questions. Every single reporter looked like they had questions.

"Why isn't the baby here with you now?" a young reporter in the first row questioned.

"Oh, she's with Pepper," Tony said. "Pepper watches her whenever Avengers stuff comes up. I can't exactly take a baby into battle, can I?"

"But this isn't a battle, Mr. Stark."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you haven't seen the footage from this morning. Looked kind of like a war zone to me."

There were a few chuckles and the reporter ducked his head, hurriedly scribbling something in his notepad.

"I get it," Tony said. "You all want to see the baby. So, I'll give you the next best thing." He pulled out his cell phone and tapped in a few commands and then laid it down on the table, bringing up one of his holographic screens. "Jarvis, give me camera six."

Steve was surprised when an image of their kitchen popped up on screen. There was Pepper, standing in front of the baby's high chair with a spoonful of applesauce in her hand. "I know this is your favorite," she cooed.

"Hey, Pep, you're kind of blocking the shot," Tony said into the phone.

Pepper jerked back, looking wildly around the kitchen. "Tony? Is that really-" She got closer to the screen. "My god, you put cameras in here?"

"Of course I did," Tony said. "There are cameras everywhere. Now, could you move a little to the left? The people want to see Stephy."

"People? What people? Are you actually filming this?" Pepper hurriedly flattened down her hair.

"Oh, I'm just showing this to a few friends in the press," Tony said casually. "You look great, by the way."

"Tony Stark, you turn this camera off right now," Pepper hissed.

Tony sighed theatrically. "Never mind. I'll just do it myself." He traced a finger over the screen and the camera panned a little to the right, focusing on the baby, happily jamming her fist into her mouth.

"Hi, Stephy!" Tony said brightly.

The baby smiled and waved her arms. "Amam."

There was a collective "aww".

Tony leaned back in his chair with a smug look on his face. "She's a cutie, isn't she?"

For a moment, it seemed like everyone was too busy focusing on the baby to think of any more questions. But then a stern-looking woman in the third row waved a hand.

"Captain Rogers, can you explain the series of events that led to Mr. Stark ending up as the baby's primary caretaker?"

Steve frowned. "He volunteered for the job and that was that. Next question."

The woman continued on. "Can you address the wisdom of allowing a man with no previous childcare expertise-"

"He's an omega," Steve cut in. "Which means he has maternal instincts. No, he's never raised a child before. But, you would never know that seeing him interact with her. The baby's happy and healthy and that's really all that matters, right?"

Sadly, that didn't seem to be the case. After the woman's initial barrage, Steve found himself fielding more and more questions about why they had decided to let Tony raise the baby.

He had known that people would be skeptical of Tony's parenting abilities, but he hadn't anticipated how irritated he would be hearing all the biased questions. No matter how many times he told them that Tony was doing great, they asked again, in a different way, if he was sure that Tony was really the right person to look after a baby. As if the twentieth time they asked, he was supposed to break down and admit that Tony was letting the baby chew on electrical wires or something.

"Look," Steve said with a sigh. "Tony is really-"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something being hurled into the room.

"Get down!" Steve shouted. He tackled Tony to the floor, intensely conscious of how vulnerable Tony was out of his suit.

Everyone was screaming and shouting as the room began to fill up with smoke.

"This way to the exit, good people," Thor bellowed, swinging his hammer to clear the air.

"We've got a visual on the suspect," Natasha announced over the comm. "Clint and I are in pursuit."

"Good work," Steve said.

Tony squirmed under him. "Steve, you have to let me up. I need the suit."

Steve blinked. Instinctively, he wanted to keep Tony safe beneath him, shield him from whatever the attack was. But Tony was right. The suit would protect him a lot better than he could.

He rolled off Tony and joined Thor in directing people to the exit. So far, it looked like the smoke didn't have any ill effects. It was probably just meant to create panic and disruption.

"Is the building clear? We could use a little help here."

"On my way," Tony announced. His outline was barely visible through the smoke as he took off for the door.

He'd be okay, Steve reassured himself. The suit would filter out the smoke.

Outside, Bruce was looking people over. He wasn't a doctor, of course, but he knew more about basic first aid than the rest of the team did. And his calm presence would be reassuring to all the panicky news people.

"You're doing a good job, Bruce," Steve said. "Thor, you're with me. Let's go catch this guy."

When they caught up to the rest of the team, Natasha was standing with her gun aimed up at the rooftops and Tony was slowly circling the street.

"Did we lose him?" Steve asked.

"No," Natasha said, shifting her stance slightly. "He's still in the area. He's just-"

"More annoying than that camouflaging guy we had a month ago," Tony said.

A man in a trenchcoat suddenly appeared behind a row of trash cans."They call me Molotov, Master of Destruction." He hurled another smoke bomb into the street.

Natasha fired off a few shots, but when the smoke cleared, he was gone.

"Hoo boy," Tony said. "We're going to be here for awhile."

"In case you were wondering, Cap," Clint said, "a Molotov is usually used by protestors-"

"I know what it is," Steve said peevishly. "These things were invented back in my day."

Tony snickered. "Don't mess with Steve. He's a man who knows things."

"So, is this all he's been doing?" Steve questioned. "Throwing smoke bombs and using the cover to make his escape?"

"Pretty much," Natasha said.

"He threw a flashbang once," Clint added.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "All we need is a few extra sets of eyes to keep track of him."

Steve frowned. "For someone named Molotov, Master of Destruction, he's not very destructive, is he?"

"Nope."

Tony swooped in lower, hovering around the trash cans where Molotov had last been spotted. "Yeah, he's more of an annoying-oh fuck!" He quickly reversed direction, but the bomb exploded right in front of him. The force of the blast knocked Tony back a few feet and he went skidding across the ground.

"Shit, shit, shit."

"Tony, are you okay?" Steve asked anxiously.

"No," Tony grumbled. "The HUD's down. It's pitch black in here."

Steve could faintly pick up Jarvis' voice in the background saying, "Sir, the suit is fully operational."

"No, it's not," Tony snapped. "You're so broken, you don't even realize that you're broken." He began struggling out of the armor, still muttering to himself about all the things he'd have to fix.

Steve sighed and tapped a finger to the comm. "Clint, you see him?" With Tony out of commission, Clint was their only aerial support.

And then he was hit with a wave of omega in distress scent.

"Oh god," Tony said. "Oh god, oh god. I can't see. I can't fucking see." The helmet and pieces of his suit were scattered around his feet and he was stumbling over them as he flailed around unsteadily.

"Deep breaths," Bruce said soothingly. "Your vision should clear up soon. Try not to panic."

"I can't help it," Tony said, his voice rising hysterically. "It's like New York all over again. Just this endless black void and there's nothing out there and nobody can do anything to save me."

Molotov touched down on the ground next to Steve. "How the mighty have fallen," he said with a chuckle.

Steve punched him in the jaw, satisfied as Molotov crumpled to the ground.

"Holy shit," Clint said.

"What? What happened?" Tony demanded.

"Steve just straight up socked the guy in the mouth."

"Yeah, well, I didn't like the shit that was coming out of it," Steve retorted.

Tony laughed nervously, and his eyes darted to the side. "So, the bad guy's down. Good, good. At least I don't have to worry about him sneaking up on me. But, god, this is still the worst."

"You're going to be okay," Steve said soothingly. "This is nothing like the black hole. You're not alone this time." He put a hand on Tony's shoulder, meaning to follow it up with a comforting gesture.

Tony tensed. "Steve? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me."

Tony's hands groped blindly through the air before connecting with Steve's chest. "Oh, thank god. It is you." Tony wrapped his arms around him and clung to him like an octopus. "It's so awful to have people touching you and no fucking idea who it is."

Steve shifted him in his arms. "Let's get you back to the Tower and have Bruce check you out. Hopefully your vision will come back on its own."

"It is a little," Tony admitted. "I can see vague outlines, but I can't make out any faces yet."

"Good. Maybe you'll be okay by the time we get home." Since Tony had a little of his vision back, he'd probably be okay walking on his own, might feel a little more dignified that way. But Steve wasn't going to put Tony down until he asked.

Natasha slapped a pair of SHIELD-issue cuffs on Molotov and hauled him to his feet. "You're going to regret this, you son of a bitch," she hissed in his ear.

"I didn't mean it, okay?" he whined. "It was just a bit of fun. Just something to get on TV."

"It's all fun and games until you end up in prison."

And then the media arrived on scene, snapping pictures and asking for comments on the situation.

Tony yelped and buried his face in Steve's shirt. "Holy fuck, that hurts."

"Give the man some space," Steve said sternly. "He's wounded."

"Back up," Natasha growled. She marched Molotov into the gaggle of reporters, forcing them to take a few steps back. "Want a close-up of the idiot with the smoke bombs? He's just dying to get on TV."

While the reporters reluctantly snapped pictures of Molotov and informed their viewers that there was no terrorist involvement and the man responsible for the attack on the press conference had been caught, Steve whisked Tony off to the Tower.

Bruce examined Tony's eyes and reported that there was no permanent damage, so his vision should clear up completely within an hour or two, but he was advised to stay away from his computers and tablets for the rest of the day just in case.

Tony didn't seem inclined to get back to work anyway. He just huddled on the couch in the den and cradled the baby in his arms as everyone went about the rest of their day around him. When everyone went to the table to eat dinner, Tony followed them into the kitchen, but otherwise, he didn't move from the couch.

He was too afraid of being alone, Steve realized. While his vision was still cloudy, he wanted someone there, to reassure him that he would be safe, that nothing would hurt him while he was vulnerable.

Tony's vision came back shortly after seven, but he was still quiet and subdued. Steve ached for him. He missed Tony's vibrant, spirited personality and he wished he could do anything to help.

At midnight, he found Tony still in the den, standing in front of the windows and staring out into the night.

"It's so dark out there," he said.

"I'll spend the night with you, if you want," Steve said. "So you don't have to be alone in the darkness."

He expected Tony to say no, to reject his offer as some kind of pity. But Tony just nodded and headed towards the elevator.

Steve followed him and they rode up in silence to Tony's room.

Tony's room was as opulent as Steve imagined, with a king-sized bed in the middle, covered in red silk sheets.

Tony stripped down to his underwear and slid under the sheets. Steve followed his lead. He would have preferred his pajamas, but at least it was a warm spring night. And with Tony clinging to him, he would at least have his body heat.

"I'm not usually this pathetic," Tony muttered, turning his face away.

"We all have our fears," Steve said. "For me, it's the ice. If we ever went on a mission in the middle of a blizzard, I'd be panicking, too."

"Oh, sure," Tony huffed. "But the difference is that you know how to put on a brave face so no one sees your fear. And I just fucking broadcast my biggest weakness to the whole world. Now every villain from here to Asgard is going to try and blind me because that's a surefire way to bring me down like a rock." He sighed. "I'm useless now. I might as well quit the team."

"Anthony Edward Stark, you are not quitting," Steve said sternly. "Quitting is the coward's way out and I know you're not a coward."

"It's not cowardice," Tony argued. "I'll be a liability now. No one wants-"

"Stop," Steve said. "I know what it's like to feel like you don't know what you're doing. I've felt that way pretty much my entire life. And it's worse these days because I'm still trying to figure out all the simple things like programming the TV. It would be so easy to just go off into the middle of nowhere and pretend that all the tech doesn't exist. And for awhile, I thought about just going back to sleep and not waking up again."

"Jesus Christ," Tony breathed. "Steve, why didn't you tell anyone? If I had known-"

"It's better now," Steve said. "Now, I'm almost afraid to go to sleep because I might not wake up again for another seventy years, and you'll be gone."

"Not going to happen," Tony declared. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

Steve stroked Tony's hair. "And what about Iron Man? Is he sticking around, too?"

Tony huffed and burrowed down into his pillow. "I see how it is. You're sneakier than people give you credit for. Well, I'll think about it."

Steve smiled. "That's all I ask."


	7. Chapter 7

When he woke up the next morning, Tony was already gone. He sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. "Fat lot of good I did," he muttered.

"You underestimate yourself, Captain," Jarvis said. "Sir merely rose to take care of the child."

So Tony had managed to get some sleep after all. That was good.

He padded into the kitchen. No Tony. But then again, it was a little early for their walk. He'd probably be down in the lab or wherever he was while Steve went for his morning run.

But Clint was there and he grinned widely at Steve. "You little scamp. Looks like you don't need our help after all."

Steve frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Clint took a sip of his coffee and waggled his eyebrows above the mug. "I heard you spent the night in Stark's room."

"I was comforting him," Steve said indignantly. "You saw how upset he was after the battle. I couldn't leave him alone like that."

"Sure," Clint said. "But you went up to Tony's room. And an omega's room is his sanctuary. He must think you're pretty special."

"Or maybe his bed's just comfier."

Clint rolled his eyes. "Come on, Cap. You know there's more to it than that. Tony trusts and respects you. And that's saying a lot considering all the problems he's had with alphas in the past. So, just go with it. You'll be good for him."

Steve shook his head. He wasn't going to think about that stuff right now. He was going to go for a run, not think about it, and that was that.

He headed for the front door, but backtracked at the sound of giggling. Poking his head into the den, he was greeted by the sight of Tony deep into a dramatic reenactment of yesterday's battle with large blocks painted to look like the Avengers.

"-and then the evil Molotov reappeared out of nowhere," Tony intoned solemnly, pulling another block out from beneath a couch cushion.

The baby looked suitably surprised.

"Mommy was hurt in battle," Tony said, knocking the Iron Man block onto its side. "But then Captain America came to save the day." The Molotov block was kicked to the side and the Iron Man block balanced on top of Captain America.

The baby grabbed for the blocks, taking the Captain America one and banging it resolutely against the floor.

Tony leaned back with a sigh. "I bet you wish your daddy was an awesome hero like Captain America," he said. "But maybe he is. Maybe he's a policeman or a firefighter or a paramedic."

Steve cleared his throat.

Tony glanced up quickly. "Oh, hey, Steve. How long have you been standing there?"

Steve grinned. "Long enough." He crouched down next to Tony. "It's cute, but I doubt the baby really recognizes the concept of father yet. To her, he's probably just some man that shows up every evening."

Tony's mouth twisted. "Or maybe her father's some man who wants nothing to do with her and she never really sees him except on the news, where everyone praises him as this wonderful person who's doing so much for the world even though-"

"You're projecting again," Steve said gently.

Tony frowned. "Well, okay. What if Stephy doesn't have a father figure? What if he completely abandoned their family? That's got to be just as bad."

"Or he could be dead," Steve said. "My dad died when I was really young. He made it through the first World War, but he was never quite the same afterwards. Didn't have the will to live anymore."

"I'm sorry," Tony said.

Steve shrugged. "We got by, somehow. I know they say children are better off in families with both parents, where the children are exposed to more than one hormone set. But I think I turned out alright being raised by a single mother."

"Stephy isn't going to just get by," Tony said firmly. "She's going to have everything she needs, including a family that loves her."

"She already has that," Steve said. "You're doing great with her and I know she-"

"I said family. I love her, but I'm not so sure about the rest of you. Especially Clint."

Steve sighed. "Clint does not hate the baby. You'd have to be a pretty callous person to hate something to small and innocent. What Clint hates are dirty diapers."

Tony squinted at him. "Fair enough. But that doesn't mean he can shirk out of spending time with her." He rose to his feet. "And he's going to get to know our baby if I have to drag him in here."

Steve grabbed Tony's arm. "Take it easy," he said. "We're going to go for our morning walk and talk this over before you do anything rash."

"It's a perfectly reasonable request," Tony protested. "The baby lives here now. So would it kill them to stop avoiding her? I'm not asking them to change diapers, but they could at least play with her a little."

"They're keeping out of the way because you made it clear Stephy was your baby and you didn't want or need their help."

Tony frowned. "Oh."

"Natasha was perfectly willing to take care of the baby while you were in heat, so you need to cut her a little slack. She just doesn't want to step on your toes if you want to be the baby's sole caregiver. And as for everyone else, they probably have no idea how to handle a baby, so they'd just rather you do everything, since you obviously know what you're doing so well."

"I can teach them," Tony said brightly.

"I'm sure you can," Steve said. "Now, let's go for our walk." He towed Tony towards the door.

Tony was brimming with excitement about getting the rest of the Avengers spending time with the baby. He chattered on for a good fifteen minutes about how everyone was going to love the baby and how happy Stephy would be to have more playmates.

"Between you and me, we're doing a good job with this baby on our own. But it's probably good for Stephy to hang around the betas, just in case she is one. I'd do a blood test to find out for sure, but I don't think Stephy would like that."

"I wouldn't think so," Steve said. He had hated all the blood tests he was subjected to after receiving the serum.

"So,when we get home, I need to make a list of all the fun, not gross things everyone can do to help with the baby."

Steve smiled as Tony launched into a lengthy list of all the fun things they could do with the baby. It was nice to see him so happy and optimistic again.

When they returned to the Tower, Tony rounded everyone up and herded them into the den. He settled the baby down on a blanket in the middle of the room. "So," Tony began. "This isn't me admitting I need help or anything. This is me offering you all the wonderful privilege of spending time with this little angel. You guys can get to enjoy all the fun parts like feeding her or reading to her and I'll take care of all the rest. Because I know I can't trust the lot of you with anything important like changing her diapers or bathing her."

Steve sighed. Because the best way to get someone to help with something was to start off by insulting them. Tony sure had a way with words.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Just tell us what you want us to do."

Tony shrugged. "I don't know. Just spend time with her and keep her entertained."

"I can do that easy," Clint said. "I'll just lug out all my equipment. That should hold her interest for a couple hours."

"Stephy is way too young for archery," Tony said.

Clint snorted. "Of course she's too young. I wasn't shooting a bow until I was at least two years old. But she's not too young to start learning about all the equipment."

"Absolutely not. No sharp objects around Stephy."

Thor hoisted the baby onto his shoulder. "Come with me, small one. We shall have many adventures exploring this great tower."

The baby started to wobble and Tony immediately rushed over to swoop Stephy to safety. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he demanded. "The baby's going to fall to her death."

"My father used to carry me so all the time," Thor argued.

"When you were three, probably, and you could actually hold on."

Thor frowned. "Now that you mention it, I was probably closer to three hundred of your years, yes."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, you're joining Clint in baby boot camp."

"Fear not," Thor said. "Clint and I shall be the best pupils you have."

"You're the only pupils I have," Tony said. "Unless..." He eyed Bruce suspiciously. "Not planning on teaching the baby how to handle a Bunsen burner, are you?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Of course not. All she's getting from me is picture books."

"Excellent. Gold star for Bruce. And that means...and that means you're entitled to the rest of the chocolate truffles in the back of the pantry."

"Oh boy," Bruce said.

"No fair," Clint whined. "I didn't know there were still any left."

"I wanted you to think that," Tony said with a smirk. "All the better to bribe you with."

"So, does that mean you're going to start buying us all truffles for reading to the baby?"

"I shouldn't have to bribe you to spend time with the baby. But if it takes chocolate to get you to read the boring parenting and baby safety books, sure."

Clint did a fist bump. "Bring on the learning. I'm ready."

Steve was happy to see the team spending more time together again. Clint and Tony had been something like snarky best friends before the baby came along, and it was good to see them arguing about some trivial thing across the breakfast table again. But Steve was a little disappointed that Tony had taken back to disappearing into his lab every day after breakfast. He had gotten used to Tony's presence throughout the day and it felt so quiet without him.

Steve sighed and traced a fingertip over the refrigerator door. It looked like he was going to have to start bringing Tony food again.

"Looking for Tony?" Natasha questioned.

"No," Steve said. "I know where he is. Down in the lab."

She popped a raspberry into her mouth. "He's working on his curriculum."

"It's been three days already," Steve said. "And I thought he was just going to push some baby books off on them."

Natasha shook her head. "He wouldn't trust anybody else to know how to keep the baby safe, not even parenting experts. So he's doing it all himself."

"And how's that working out?"

She shrugged. "Ask Clint. He's got Tony's first lesson plan." She jerked her thumb towards the balcony.

Steve padded onto the balcony. Clint was sitting cross-legged on the floor, frowning intently at the paper in his hands. There were several other papers scattered all around him. If what Natasha had said was true and this was only the first installment of Tony's baby boot camp, he was going to end up teaching the others every single thing there was ever to know about babies.

Steve sat down on one of the deck chairs."Tough stuff?" he asked.

Clint snorted. "No. This is insulting to my intelligence."

Steve picked up one of the pages and skimmed the first couple of lines.

"Rule 98: No knives, arrows, or other sharp objects around the baby. (Clint, this means you!)

Rule 99: No guns, bullets, poisons, or other dangerous objects around the baby (Your gear is staying in your room, Clint)"

Steve chuckled and shook his head. "Individualized lesson plans. Tony's really put a lot of effort into this."

"Too much effort," Clint muttered. "No arrows for the baby. I got it the first time. No need to keep nattering on about it like I'm an idiot."

"I'm sure he isn't thinking about it that way. You know Tony. He's a smart guy, but sometimes he has all the social skills of a piece of wood."

Clint grinned and leaned back, stretching his shoulders with a pop. "I'll say. I get where's he's coming from, but who the fuck compiles a list of nine hundred rules of things not to do with the baby? I bet there's another couple hundred things I'll be required to do."

"Oh, absolutely."

Clint winced. "Hey, Tony. Got another batch of reading material for me?"

"Sure do. But I've also brought some motivation." He popped a truffle into Clint's mouth.

Clint's eyes lit up. "Bacon."

"That's right. Everything's better with bacon. Even chocolate."

Clint sighed happily. "You know me so well."

Tony settled down on the floor next to Clint. "That's right. And I also know you do better with a little hands-on demonstration, so, I made this." Tony slipped a small device out of his pocket. "It's programmed for rules 1 through 182."

Clint pressed a button and a holographic baby appeared in the air, giggling and kicking her feet. "So, this is a high-tech version of those baby things they make you deal with in high school."

"Pretty much," Tony said cheerfully. "But, with a few extra additions." He leaned in closer. "Show me rule 98."

The simulation changed to the baby grabbing for Clint's archery supplies and wailing as she sliced her finger on an arrow tip.

"Damn," Clint said.

"Just something to think about," Tony said cheerfully.

"Yeah." Clint's face creased with a frown as he glanced back at the list of rules. "So much to think about."

"I'll leave you to your studying then," Steve said. He rose and headed back into the Tower.

When he returned to the kitchen, Natasha was gone, but Thor was staring forlornly at a holographic display of a dead-eyed baby sprawled across the counter, whimpering quietly.

"I had not realized your young ones were so fragile," Thor said somberly. "It saddens me to think the child could die from something as harmless as a quick toss in the air."

"She's not made of glass," Steve said. "But the roughhousing will just have to wait a few years."

The last thing he wanted was for Tony's safety lectures to become so effective that Thor was going to give up interacting with the baby altogether.

"That is a shame," Thor said. "My favorite childhood games all involved athletic skill. And I'm afraid this child has not even mastered getting up on her own."

"Well, no," Steve admitted. "At her age, you basically just hold her and talk to her, give her a few toys to play with. She's not running around yet, but she'll be there before you know it."

"Ah, yes," Thor said. "I forget how quickly your people grow and age. Well, I shall have to simply tell her tales of all the adventures she will have when she gets older so she will have something to look forward to."

Steve grinned. "Now you're getting it."

From what Steve could see, baby boot camp looked like a success. After they had read the rules for being around the baby, Tony dragged the guys into the den for daily lessons on proper baby-holding technique and let them attempt to feed her under his close supervision.

And once Tony was actually allowing them to hold and play with the baby, everyone was a lot more enthusiastic about learning how to do things with her.

Thor spent long stretches of the afternoon walking around the Tower with the baby in his arms, pointing out interesting objects and explaining their uses. And then he would sit the baby down in the middle of the den and tell her epic tales of his exploits in battle back on Asgard.

The baby sat and listened with rapt attention even though she probably couldn't understand a word he was saying.

Clint spent most of his time with the baby placing toys just out of her reach in an attempt to get her crawling. At the moment, all it seemed to get the baby to do was fuss when she couldn't stretch her arms out to grab it, but in time the ploy would probably work.

In Steve's opinion, the best thing about the arrangement was that Tony was spending more time out of the lab and hanging around the den with everyone else.

The only problem was that when Steve wanted to sit on the couch and read, the den was already occupied.

Clint and Natasha were sitting in the two armchairs across from each other, reading the same spy thriller, Bruce was sprawled across the couch, fast asleep, and Tony was lying on the floor, making airplane sounds as he lifted the baby above his head.

She squealed with delight and kicked her feet.

"Looks like someone's having fun," Steve observed with a smile.

"Absolutely. You want to have a go?"

"Don't do it, Steve," Clint warned. "She barfed in my face yesterday."

Tony snorted. "I told you not to play with her right after she ate."

"I still think she did it on purpose."

"It's because she knows the sort of man you are," Natasha muttered as she turned a page in her book.

Clint huffed. "I'm awesome. I don't know why she hates me. She should be hating on all the villains we have to deal with. And Fury. Can we teach her to vomit on him instead?"

"And this is why the baby doesn't like you," Natasha said dryly. "I'm sure she can sense the irresponsibility oozing out of your pores."

While they argued, Tony sat up and tugged at Steve's hand. "She won't throw up on you, Steve," Tony said reassuringly. "She has good taste."

Somehow, Steve wasn't convinced that would be enough to keep him safe if the baby's stomach was upset, but he dutifully laid down on the ground and let Tony hand him the baby.

"Take her up and down a few times," Tony said. "Nice and easy. Nothing to it."

Steve lifted the baby up and then brought her down to press a kiss to her forehead. He was sure he wasn't lifting her as smoothly as Tony would have, but it didn't seem to matter. She laughed and patted a hand against his mouth every time he brought her back down for a kiss.

He smiled and cradled her against his chest. She really was such a happy baby. Alert, energetic, and completely content. He had spent so much time around her, but he hadn't really appreciated what a good baby she was. She was separated from her parents, thrown into a new environment with strange people, and she had just settled in without fear and screaming. Maybe she was simply too young to understand, but Steve liked to think that the baby enjoyed having them as her new family.

Tony rolled over and leaned his head against Steve's shoulder. "She's beautiful, isn't she?" he whispered.

"So beautiful," Steve agreed. They were so close, it was easy to tilt his head down and kiss Tony's lips.

Tony was beaming when they pulled apart. "Looks like Stephy's got herself a daddy now."

"Fucking finally," Clint said.

"Language, Barton," Tony scolded. But he was still smiling, his eyes bright with happiness.


	8. Chapter 8

If Steve had expected a world-shattering revelation after their kiss, it never came. Instead, a feeling of rightness just settled over him. He had loved Tony for a long time and now he was finally acting on his feelings.

But most of his life wouldn't change. He would still go for his morning walk with Tony, eat meals with the team, and spend time playing with the baby. Life would go on pretty much the same as it always had, only better. He could already see Tony snuggling up with him during movie nights and holding his hand as they walked through the park. And it was going to be amazing.

Tony nuzzled against Steve. "I'm going down to the workshop for a few hours," he said quietly. "Make sure you put our baby to bed in an hour."

"Of course," Steve said. He kissed Tony's forehead. "Have fun."

He smiled as he cradled Stephy in his arms.

Our baby.

His heart warmed. He had never thought he'd be able to start a family here in the future, where he didn't belong. But he had his team now and in time, he'd have Tony as his mate. Tony wouldn't be able to bear him the children he had always wanted, but that didn't matter. They had Stephy for as long as time allowed, and when she went back to her parents, Steve would find another outlet for Tony's maternal instincts. Because Tony was far too wonderful of a mother to not let him have a child to love.

Steve dutifully put the baby to bed an hour later. She fussed a little more than he expected and only settled down when Natasha sang her a Russian lullaby. So maybe he didn't have a natural parenting instinct like Tony did, but that wasn't going to stop him.

He went to bed that night feeling optimistic about the future. Now that he knew Tony returned his feelings, it felt like nothing could go wrong again.

Steve was awakened by a wet warmth against his cheek. He made a face and waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the disturbance.

This earned him a chuckle and a weight settling across his chest.

Steve struggled to sit up."Okay, you guys, I'm tired and really not in the mood for-" The words died in his throat.

Tony was straddling his hips, dressed only in a tiny red thong.

Steve swallowed."Tony?"

Tony grinned. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Glad to see you're up. You don't want to sleep through this."

"Tony, what do you think you're doing?"

"Seducing you. Is it working?" Tony curled his hands over Steve's shoulders and leaned in.

Steve put a hand against Tony's chest and held him back. "You're not ready for this."

"What are you talking about?" Tony said with a laugh. "Do you know how many guys I've slept with on the first date? I'm a slut. I'm always ready."

"No, you're not," Steve said. "Whoever told you that was wrong."

Tony frowned. "But I really-"

"No. We're not having sex right now. We kissed for the first time just a few hours ago."

Tony blinked. "Oh, I see. Right. In your days, people didn't have sex on the first date." He brightened. "But if you think about it, we're way past the first date already. We've been living together for months now and all those walks together were sort of dates even if we didn't realize at the time. So, frankly, I'd say we're way overdue for a good romp."

Steve shook his head. "You still don't get it, do you? I want a relationship with you, Tony."

"I know," Tony said. "And the basis for a good relationship is good sex." He rolled his hips against Steve's.

Steve rolled them over and pinned Tony down against the bed. "I need you to listen to me," he said.

"This is good, too," Tony said cheerfully. "Go on, soldier. Ravish me with your-"

"We are not having sex yet," Steve hissed through his teeth. "Not until you stop thinking of yourself as a slut and stop thinking of sex as the only thing you can offer. I want you for you, not your body. And if I sleep with you now, you'll never believe that."

Tony stared at him wide-eyed. "You don't want to sleep with me?"

"I do. But not like this. Not until you're ready."

"But I am ready."

"You're not ready," Steve said firmly. "You can stay the night if you want, but we're not having sex."

"Okay," Tony said doubtfully. But he settled into bed beside Steve and snuggled up against him.

Steve stroked Tony's hair and drifted back to sleep.

He had thought that was the end of it, but the next morning Tony ambushed him as he was heading out the door for his run, under the deluded assumption that Steve just didn't want to have sex with him the night before because he was tired.

Tony took the second rejection a lot harder. He didn't say a word to Steve throughout the entire walk and when they got back home, Tony grabbed a muffin off the counter and went straight down to the workshop.

Clint arched an eyebrow. "Trouble in paradise already?"

Steve sighed and slumped down in his chair. "Tony thinks that sex is the basis of a good relationship."

"Well, yeah," Clint said. "A healthy sex life is important."

Steve shook his head."It's not that simple. There is so much more to a relationship than sex. And I have to prove it to him."

Clint hunched his shoulders. "I'm sure doing it your way will be better for Tony in the long run, but in the meantime, he's going to be very hurt and upset."

"I know," Steve said. "It's hard to see him upset. I wish he understood why I can't give in."

"You just have to give him a little bit to go on," Clint said. "After all, you can't do anything for him if he breaks up with you."

That was always a possibility. As well-meaning as he was, not having sex with Tony could very well drive him right back into the arms of those terrible alphas who saw Tony as little more than a warm body.

Steve didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about what it meant that Tony stayed down in his workshop with the baby all afternoon. And didn't want to think about what it meant that Tony had missed dinner.

He waited up for Tony till almost midnight, hopeful that he would stop brooding down in the workshop eventually and sneak into the kitchen for a snack, but Tony didn't show. With a heavy heart, Steve headed off to bed.

Tomorrow, he would have to corner Tony on their walk and explain things to him a little better.

When he pushed open the door to his room, there was Tony, lying sprawled across his bed in the same little red thong.

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. "This isn't going to work, Tony."

"Steve," Tony whined. "What's the big deal? Why won't you sleep with me?"

"Because I want our relationship to be about more than just sex. I want our first time to be-"

"We already had a first time. And it was great and I want to do it again."

Steve shook his head. "Do you really want sex this badly?"

"Yes," Tony said eagerly. The red thong quickly disappeared.

"Alright, then." Steve settled onto the bed and pulled Tony onto his lap. "I'm going to take real good care of you," he promised. "This is all about making you happy."

Tony groaned as Steve stroked him. "You don't have to do this. I'm already ready for-"

"Just relax," Steve said. "This is all about you right now."

Tony whimpered and arched up into him. "Feels so good," he murmured.

"That's it," Steve whispered in Tony's ear. "Just let it happen."

It wasn't long before Tony cried out his release.

Steve held him through the aftershocks, pressing gentle kisses against his shoulder blades.

Tony stayed snuggled in his arms for several minutes, but when he recovered enough to move, he stared at Steve like he was a troubling bit of math. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Because I wanted to make you feel good. Haven't you ever done this for any of your partners?"

"A couple times, yeah."

"And have they ever done anything for you?"

Tony furrowed his brow. "No."

"Well, I'm going to change that," Steve said firmly.

Tony's eyes flickered over his body. "Do you want me to-"

"No," Steve said. "I don't want you doing anything for me out of a sense of obligation."

"You're the weirdest alpha I've ever met," Tony said.

Steve decided to take that as a compliment. If all the alphas Tony knew were selfish jerks, he was proud to be nothing like them. The other alphas didn't get to have Tony sleeping beside them night after night. And that was their loss.

Steve was honored to have Tony willing to stay with him, willing to give his idea of romance a chance.

Some nights, Tony was even curled up in Steve's bed when he came up from the gym, but most nights, Tony wandered into bed shortly after midnight and just slipped in beside Steve. Thankfully, he had given up on the red thong and usually showed up in a t-shirt and boxers, which had to be far more comfortable to sleep in.

It would take a lot of time before Tony would be ready to accept him as his mate, but Steve was willing to wait. He could already see how much happier Tony was every morning snuggling with him in bed before they took the baby out. It was a good sign that Tony might finally be realizing how much better it was to be with someone who cared about him and looked after his needs.

Steve enjoyed having Tony in his bed as well. Tony was always so warm and cuddly. After his stint in the ice, Steve had an aversion to the cold. On colder nights, he was more likely to have nightmares. But with Tony wrapped securely around him or draped over his chest, Steve was never going to feel cold again.

It had become so routine to have Tony sleeping beside him, that Steve woke up in the middle of the night missing his presence.

He glanced at the clock. It was already two in the morning. If he didn't get Tony to bed pretty soon, he wouldn't get any sleep. Tony could swear up and down that he survived just fine pulling several days of all-nighters in a row, but Steve didn't like seeing the frazzled omega surviving on coffee. Sleep was much better for Tony.

Tony was down in his lab, hunched over his computer, muttering furiously as he scrolled through a wall of text onscreen.

"What are you working on?" Steve asked.

"Fury forwarded a couple e-mails to me from six women claiming to be Stephy's mother. And they're all, well, like this." He gestured to the screen.

Steve peered at the screen. Most of it looked like a long, misspelled diatribe about how the Avengers had teamed up with the Illuminati to steal her baby from her home using their thoughts and were now brainwashing the baby in an attempt to overthrow the government.

"Wow," Steve said.

"I know. Every time you go on TV, the crackpots come crawling out."

Steve squeezed his shoulders. "You're not going to be at this all night, are you? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

Tony pushed back his chair. "Yeah, you're right. I've read enough terrible conspiracy theories for one night."

"Fury shouldn't be making you read all that," Steve said as he ushered Tony into the elevator. "You know they're nuts, he knows they're nuts. End of story."

"I wish it was that easy." As the elevator doors opened, he made a beeline for Steve's bed, flopping across it with a grateful sigh. "All six of them are fucking whackjobs, but that doesn't prove they're not Stephy's mother."

"Then just make them take a DNA test."

"And what if Stephy is adopted, hmn? That's what they'll claim when the DNA test comes back negative."

"You'll think of something," Steve assured him. "You always will." He stroked the back of his hand over the omega gland at the base of Tony's neck. It responded only to the touch of an alpha, releasing positive hormones that would help him relax.

Tony jerked away from him. "Stop that," he snapped.

"I'm just trying to help you feel better," Steve said. "You're stressed out and-"

"You think sex is going to make me relax? Go to hell."

Steve frowned. "I didn't suggest you needed a handjob to relax. I'm just trying to do whatever you need right now."

"Don't give me that shit. It's never about what I need, is it?" Tony said scornfully. "It's always about whatever it takes to fuck me. I thought you were different, but you're just like all the other alphas, always up to the same stupid tricks. I'm not letting this happen again, so fuck off." He slammed the door shut on his way out.

Steve was horrified. How could Tony ever think he was trying to take advantage of him?

He had to apologize, to make Tony understand that he would never, ever, ever hurt him that way.

But the next morning, Tony was nowhere to be found. Steve waited in the park for an hour after his run, but Tony never showed up. He didn't show up for lunch either, even though Clint had made a batch of spaghetti, which was one of Tony's favorite foods.

By mid-afternoon, Steve was starting to be very concerned. He hoped that even if Tony was upset with him, he would at least confide in one of the others.

He finally cornered Natasha, Bruce, and Thor in the den. "Have any of you seen Tony today?" he asked.

Bruce shook his head. "He's been holed up in his lab all day. I tried to bring him lunch and he told me he wanted to be left alone."

"And he has refused all our efforts to see the child," Thor added as he started up the Wii.

Steve's heart sank. An omega who didn't trust the pack alpha could draw away from the rest of the pack, feeling unsafe and insecure with the very people who cared about him the most. It was hard to bring an omega back from that level of paranoia, especially one with a child.

"This is my fault," he said. "I was trying to help him relax and I made everything so much worse. He probably never wants to see my face again."

"You're not giving up on him," Natasha said sternly. "You haven't given up on Bucky."

"I know," Steve said. "But this was-"

"Not your fault." She motioned him closer. "Tony's been shaped by his past experiences," she said in a low voice. "And most of his experiences with alphas have been bad."

"I'm beginning to see that," Steve said. "But I don't understand why anybody would want to treat him like he's so worthless. He's Tony Stark, for crying out loud."

"And that's the problem. People see him as a status symbol, not a person. And some alphas take it personally when Tony won't sleep with them. So, they find other means of convincing him."

Steve shuddered.

"And those men are highly dishonorable," Thor said indignantly. "From what I know of your culture, omegas are meant to be cherished and protected by your alphas."

"In theory," Bruce said. "But they just don't make them like they used to anymore."

Natasha offered Steve a sad smile. "Trust me, Steve, it won't be easy. I swore off alphas when I jumped to SHIELD. After all that time sleeping with scum in exchange for information, they just weren't my type anymore. No offense to you, but I don't blame Tony for being a little uneasy around alphas now."

Steve shook his head. He had tried so hard to convince Tony he was nothing like the alphas of his past, and he had done the exact same thing they had all done to him. No wonder Tony was upset with him.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Natasha said. "We all know you're a good alpha. Probably one of the best ones out there. I told you to go after him because I know you'll be good for him. And deep down, Tony knows it, too. So, go find him and fix things."

With Natasha's support, Steve felt more confident going down to the workshop to see if Tony would be willing to talk things through.

He tried his code for the lab and the door remained shut. But he wasn't going to give up.

"Jarvis, let Tony know that I want to apologize to him. If he doesn't want to see me right now, that's fine. But I have to at least get a message to him."

There was a long silence and then the doors slid open.

Steve didn't see Tony at first, but after a moment looking around, he spotted him curled up on the floor in the corner, the baby cradled to his chest.

"Tony?" Steve said hesitantly. "Can we talk?"

Tony raised his head. "Hey, Steve," he said with a heavy sigh. "Are you here to break up with me?"

"No, of course not."

"Well, you should. You'd be better off without me."

"Never," Steve said. "You're a wonderful person, Tony. I'd never want to leave you."

Tony sighed. "Well, you must be delusional. Jarvis, secret playlist seven."

"Hoobastank, sir?"

The name alone made Steve want to smile. Hopefully, it would be a silly song that would cheer Tony up and get him out of this funk.

But Tony's mouth twisted into a frown."Yeah, sure. I probably deserve it."

Steve sighed. "This isn't a happy song, is it?"

"Nope," Tony said. "It's mopey omega music. I listened to "The Reason" over and over again after I broke up with Pepper."

"Pepper broke up with you. Don't blame yourself for that."

Tony hunched his shoulders. "I made her break up with me. I had to do it. She's been through a lot with me and I didn't want to see her miserable anymore."

The opening strains of the song filtered in through the speakers."I'm not a perfect person. There's many things I wish I didn't do."

"Don't do this to yourself," Steve pleaded. "You're so much better than you think you are."

Tony shook his head. "I'm better than I was before I met Pepper. She really helped guide me in the right direction. And all I did was bring her down. I was so grateful to have had her in my life, but I had to let her go."

Steve sighed. In the background, he could hear the sad lyrics lamenting all the pain the singer had caused and something about, "I have to say before I go."

Was this really the way Tony thought about himself? That he only caused pain and anguish to everyone and it was better if he left?

Tony settled the baby into the playpen. "You'd be better off without me too, sweatpea."

Steve had heard enough. He dropped to his knees in front of Tony and took his hand. "A reason to start over new," he sang along with the song. "And the reason is you."

"You can't," Tony said, a panicked note edging into his voice. "You can't do this. You're an alpha and-"

"I love you," Steve said. "It's been hard for me to adapt to this century and I couldn't have done it without you. You've given me a place to call home and the chance to have a family. Why would I ever want to leave you? I'd be honored to have you as a mate."

"No," Tony said. "You don't want that. You don't want to be stuck with me forever."

"I do," Steve said. "And I'll keep reminding you how much I love you until you believe me. Every time I go out on a mission, I want you to know that I'm coming back to you. There is no way you can push me away or convince me that you're not worth it. I don't care how long it takes. I'm in this relationship for the long haul."

"Okay," Tony said in a small voice. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Steve smiled and got to his feet, pulling Tony into a hug. Tony was giving him the chance to redeem himself and he wasn't going to waste it.


	9. Chapter 9

Steve spent the rest of the afternoon down in the lab with Tony. The omega seemed to have forgiven him, but he wasn't quite ready to face the others. Because Tony had somehow convinced himself that showing any moment of vulnerability would be seen as a sign of weakness that others would attack him for. It was sad that he felt that way, but the only thing Steve could do was be there for him until he felt ready to rejoin the others.

So like any good alpha, he brought dinner down to Tony in the lab and stayed to keep him company while Tony worked on one more project.

He hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until he woke up to a loud crash.

"Sorry," Tony said as he bent to retrieve the fallen section of metal piping. "But I've got a lot of work to to do today and I didn't really have time to wait for you to wake up."

Steve scrubbed at his face with one hand. "What time is it? Did you take the baby out for her walk already?"

"Nat and Clint have her right now. I needed a little more time for work. Since I spent all yesterday moping around down here, none of this shit got done."

"You weren't moping," Steve objected. "You had every right to want some alone time."

"Still," Tony said. "Nothing got done. But that's going to change today."

Steve frowned. "I didn't know you really had that much to do. I thought you were just vetting those women who claimed to be Stephy's mother."

Tony froze. "Oh shit. I forgot about that. Good thinking, Steve. I should be working on that first." He kicked a foot against his table, sending his desk chair hurtling over to the desk on the other side of the room.

"I don't want you in over your head," Steve said. "If you have a lot of things to do for SI, maybe someone else can read through the crazy e-mails."

Tony waved a hand. "We're past that already. All we have to do now is do some DNA testing and I know Bruce has some machinery in his lab." He frowned and began jabbing at his keyboard. "Only problem is he isn't answering my e-mails."

Steve sighed. "I don't think he's glued to his computer all day like you are. Why don't you try talking to him like a normal person?"

"Okay," Tony said. "We'll do it your way." He pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Hey, Bruce. Bruce. Brucey, baby, I know you're in there."

The other intercom clicked on. "Alright, alright," Bruce said with a heavy sigh. "Is this really so urgent that it has to be done at 7 a.m?"

"You sound sleepy," Tony said. "Maybe you should get to bed earlier."

"What do you want, Tony? Let's get this over with."

"Aww, Brucey. Don't be like that. You love the baby and want to help find her parents, don't you? Or, better yet, you want to help keep all the crazy ladies at bay, right?"

Bruce yawned. "There better be coffee."

"Oh, come on. You know me better than that. I don't do anything without coffee."

"Okay. I'll start setting things up."

Tony practically bounded upstairs to get the baby.

Steve smiled and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Bruce. But you know how he gets."

"I'm used to it. And being bothered first thing in the morning is a small price to pay if it gets Tony out of the lab."

That was very true. Steve would gladly put up with the worst of Tony's recklessness every single day if it meant never seeing him distressed again.

Tony poked his head back into the lab. "What are you still doing in here? We're going down to Bruce's lab now. Bruce, seriously, you need to stop talking to Steve over the comm. You can talk face to face like normal people."

Steve quirked an eyebrow. "Would you really consider any of us normal people?"

Tony opened his mouth to protest and then closed it. "What a bunch of weirdos we live with," he murmured to the baby.

Steve rolled his eyes. "See you in a minute, Bruce." He clicked off the comm line and followed Tony down a level to Bruce's lab.

Bruce's lab was a lot smaller than Tony's,or maybe it just looked that way with the row of machinery lined up against the walls. Steve had thought Tony had a lot of equipment, but the machines Bruce was working with were all twice the size of the team washing machine. And with all the massive equipment, Steve almost didn't see Bruce sitting at a small lab bench, peering into a microscope.

"Hey," Tony said. "Don't be starting other things when you're supposed to do Stephy's DNA test."

"Tony," Steve said sternly. "That is not the way to talk to people who are volunteering to help you."

"It's alright," Bruce said. He stood up from the table with a stretch. "I was just looking a few things over while I was waiting for you to show up." He padded behind a row of machines that looked like giant microwaves and rolled out a tray of needles, gauze, and antiseptic. "If you'll just hold her still for me, I can get started."

Steve cringed inwardly. Poor girl. Blood draws were awful.

Tony clutched the baby tightly against his chest. "Is this really necessary? Can't you do one of those mouth swabs?"

Bruce shrugged. "If we're going to test her, might as well test everything. Just to make sure she doesn't have any medical conditions we're unaware of."

"Well, I guess that's probably a good idea," Tony said reluctantly. He sat down on the edge of the lab table and settled Stephy over his shoulder.

Stephy cried a little when the needle went in, but she settled down as Tony gently rubbed her back and murmured soothingly to her. Steve was impressed. She stayed pretty still until Bruce finished drawing the little vial of blood. She fussed again when he pulled the needle out, but by then it was all over. Tony wiggled a cotton ball up her arm to the blood draw site and baaed like a sheep as he pressed it down to stop the bleeding. The baby was all smiles again by the time Tony carted her back up the stairs for Clint and Natasha to feed her breakfast.

Bruce divided the blood into smaller containers and popped two of them into a little tray on the side of one of the microwave-looking machines. "Did Tony say if he had any samples for comparison?"

"Not sure," Steve said. "He had six women he needs to look at, but I'm not sure if he-"

"I'm back!" Tony announced loudly. He slid in next to Steve. "Did I miss anything?"

"Bruce was just wondering if you had any DNA samples from the women who claim to be Stephy's mother."

"Oh yeah, SHIELD swabbed them for me. Because I'm not letting any of those crazies anywhere near the Tower and the baby until we have proof of their ridiculous claims."

Bruce sighed. "So you don't have the samples with you."

"It's in the system," Tony said. "Check your e-mail."

Bruce brought up his computer and studied the screen for a long moment. "Okay," he said. "This works." He printed out the results of the SHIELD testing and slid them into the bottom tray of the microwave-like machine. "And now we see what happens," he said. He pressed a button in the center and the machine started humming.

Tony blinked. "So what happened?"

"It's analyzing the baby's DNA and comparing them with the samples from the six women. It shouldn't take long." And he settled back at his desk.

Fifteen minutes into the process, Tony was already restless. He hovered close to the machine, circling around it and staring at it intently as if the intensity of his want would somehow produce the results.

"This is taking forever," he complained. "Isn't there any way to speed this up?"

"Unless you'd like to build me a faster DNA sequencer, you'll just have to wait," Bruce said. He put another slide under the microscope.

"Don't give him any ideas," Steve said. "You know he'll do it."

"I know," Bruce said, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Somehow, Steve convinced Tony to get out of the lab for a few minutes to go check on the baby and do some work on whatever else he was supposed to be doing. But after those precious few minutes of quiet, Tony was back, bouncing on the balls of his feet and giving the machine a death glare.

Finally the DNA sequencer beeped loudly and spat out a few sheets of paper.

Tony snatched up the print-out. "It says...it says..." He peered at it intently. "It's saying something, but I'm not exactly sure yet."

Bruce sighed and held out his hand for the paper. He looked it over and nodded. "No familial match with any of the women."

"Well, we already knew that," Tony said with a snort. "Tell me you didn't make my baby suffer just to confirm what we already knew."

"She's a beta," Bruce said.

Tony brightened. "Perfect. We have two betas on the team. It's really the best orientation she could have. She'll have more role models that way."

"We also have two alphas," Bruce pointed out.

Tony shrugged. "Well, I guess that would have worked too. I'm just glad she's not an omega. Because I'd be her only role model and I sure as hell wouldn't be able to teach her how to be an omega."

Steve squeezed his eyes shut. It pained him to hear Tony talk about himself like he was a failure. So what if his heats were messed up? That didn't mean he couldn't still be a role model to another omega. Because as far as Steve was concerned, Tony was the perfect example of warm, maternal affection that was so characteristic of most omegas.

"Tony," Bruce said gently. "At this point, the only thing anybody needs to teach the baby is that we love her and are going to take care of her. And you're doing a wonderful job of that."

Tony averted his eyes. "Well, you know, I'm just covering the basics. The rest of you will have to model good behavior for her, because I'm nothing but a bad example of just about everything."

"Tony, stop," Steve said firmly. "That's all in the past. Right now, you're the perfect mother. And Stephy is lucky to have you."

"If you say so." Tony cleared his throat. "Any medical problems, Bruce?"

"Nothing that a blood test could pick up. Of course, blood tests don't give you the entire picture of a person's medical history, but they rule out-"

"Yeah, great," Tony said breezily. "My baby's a healthy beta. I'll have to tell her the good news." He disappeared into the elevator.

Steve sighed. "I wish Tony would believe us when we tell him he's doing fine."

"I know," Bruce said. "But I'm afraid all that Tony hears is us pointing out all his shortcomings."

"But-"

Bruce held up a hand. "From what I hear, Tony was raised like an alpha. Probably because his father saw that as Tony's only chance of surviving in the corporate world and one day taking over the business. And maybe he was right. Historically, omegas have been viewed as the gentlest and weakest orientation."

Steve nodded. Back in his day, most of the army recruiters had immediately disqualified him on the assumption that a scrawny boy like him had to be an omega and omegas were supposed to stay home where it was safe instead of going into battle. He had been so angry when no one had even questioned Bucky's status. If he had acted on that petty instinct to out Bucky and get him kicked off the squad, Bucky never would have suffered for all those years. But keeping Bucky out of the war just because he was an omega was silly. Bucky could fight just as well as any beta or alpha.

"Society is a lot more accepting of omegas in leadership roles now," Bruce said. "Everyone's well aware that Tony's an omega and no one would think of removing him as CEO. But the damage has already been done. Tony's come to view all omega traits as signs of weakness. To Tony, complimenting him on his skill with the baby must feel like a failure to his alpha facade."

Steve's shoulders sagged. How terrible it must be for Tony to feel so protective about his image all the time. And how he wished he could go back in time and shake some sense into Howard. There had been so many good betas fighting in the war. And a few omegas like Bucky that had snuck into the army despite the rules and more than proved their worth. Howard should have known better than to teach Tony that alpha was the only orientation worth anything.

"And it's a shame," Bruce said. "Because Tony has such strong omega instincts. He could be happy being a stay-at-home mom, working here in his lab so he could have more time to raise a family. But I'm sure he's talked himself into believing that after all the time spent pretending to be an alpha, he doesn't know how to be an omega anymore."

Steve squeezed his eyes shut. "So, he's convinced he's a failure on both fronts."

Bruce nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"So what do we do to convince him he's not?"

"I wish I knew," Bruce said. "But I'm not a psychologist."

Steve's mouth twisted wryly. "You could have fooled me."

Bruce smiled. "I can only tell you what I know. Tony may be a hard person to read, but after working with him for a year, I've gotten to understand him better."

"And by reading up on his past, apparently." God, there were so many things Steve would have done differently if he had known how much Tony was struggling.

"Hey," Bruce said. "I'm not telling you these things so you'll feel sorry for him. He wouldn't want that. I just want you to have a better appreciation of how strong he is, considering all he's gone through."

"I do appreciate it," Steve said. "He's one of the toughest people I know."

"And I have it on good authority that even tough guys eat breakfast," Bruce said with a smile. "So if you're going to get on Tony's good side, you might want to start there."

Of course. Tony could be hard to read sometimes, but after all the mornings having breakfast together, Steve knew exactly what Tony liked to eat.

"Thanks, Bruce," he said gratefully. He hurried towards the elevator.

Upstairs, he found Natasha and Tony in the den. Natasha was going through a stack of baby books while Tony cradled the baby on his lap.

Steve settled onto the couch next to Tony. "Did you tell them what we learned about Stephy?"

"She's a beta," Tony said.

"That's wonderful," Natasha said. "We know so many good betas. Clint and Bruce, of course. And Agent Hill."

Tony nodded. "Rhodey and Pepper are betas, too."

"So's Coulson," Clint called from the kitchen.

"You hear that, Stephy?" Tony said. "All those nice betas who can teach you how to be the best beta you can be. You're so lucky to have all of us. We're like one big family." Tony brightened and began rocking the baby on his lap. "I love you, you love me. We're a happy family. With a great-"

"You sing any more Barney songs and I will fucking end you, Stark," Clint shouted.

"You cuss in front of the baby again and I'll end you, Barton," Tony shouted back.

"Sorry, Stephy," Clint said in a more subdued tone.

Tony bopped the baby's head. "Uncle Clint is a knucklehead. Yes, he is. Yes, he is."

"Abababa." Stephy bounced on Tony's lap and flapped her hands.

Tony smiled. "Oh, you want to dance? I've got the perfect song for you." He took the baby's hands and started clapping them together."We are family. Get up everybody and sing."

She laughed and stuffed one of her hands in her mouth.

"You goose," Tony laughed. "That's not dancing, that's-" He looked chastened as his stomach growled. "Oh. That's right. We didn't have our second breakfast yet."

"First breakfast," Natasha corrected. "Coffee doesn't count."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm going to have breakfast and Stephy's going to have her morning snack. Happy now?"

Natasha just smiled.

"I'll take care of it," Steve said.

"Take care of what?"

"Breakfast. Feeding the baby and making you some toast and eggs."

Tony blinked. "Uh, okay." He handed the baby over. "Just give her a few spoonfuls of the sweet potato or banana. Those are her favorites."

"I know," Steve said. "And you like raspberry or peach jam."

"Yeah," Tony said quietly. He peered at Steve intently. "This isn't-you're not-"

"Nope," Steve said. "I'm not asking for anything in return. I just know you have a lot of work today so I want to make things easier on you."

Tony's shoulders slumped. "Right. Work." He looked longingly at the baby in Steve's arms.

"Go on," Natasha said. "We promised we'd look after Stephy while you did your work. The sooner you get it done, the sooner you get to play with her again." She waved one of the books. "Maybe you'll make it back in time for storytime."

Tony huffed. "Okay, I'm going, I'm going." He pointed a finger at Steve as he backed up towards the elevator. "This toast better come with a side of coffee."

"Of course," Steve said. "French roast."

"And it better be Fre-oh. I guess you got it covered." Tony spared him one last plaintive look and then the elevator doors slid shut.

"Well, that went well," Natasha said. "I thought he'd never leave."

Steve sighed and shifted the baby on his hip. "I don't really blame him for wanting to play with the baby all day instead, but he really needs to catch up on his work. One of the conditions for him keeping the baby was to stay on top of all the work he needs to do for SHIELD and SI and I know he hasn't been down in his lab much the past few weeks. He probably needs to spend several hours down there at the very least."

And wasn't that ironic, having to make Tony spend the day down in the lab.

"Must be rough," she said. "How many times do you think he's going to come up to check on the baby?"

"We taking bets?" Clint called, poking his head out of the kitchen.

Steve shook his head. "No more bets."

It was time they all stopped betting against Tony and started really helping him. Starting with breakfast.

Steve settled the baby in her high chair and reached for a jar of sweet potatoes. "According to Tony, this is one of your favorites, right?"

Stephy cooed and made grabby hands.

"Can I help?" Clint asked eagerly.

"Sure," Steve said. He handed the jar of baby food to Clint and popped a slice of toast into the toaster.

Clint scooped up a spoonful of sweet potatoes. "And breakfast is served."

The baby regarded him dubiously.

"Oh come on," he said. "You're not still mad at me about the toys, are you? I'm only trying to help, I swear. You'll thank me when you start crawling around on your own."

Steve chuckled and shook his head. "Do you need Tony's help?"

"Nope. I got this." Clint frowned at the baby. "If you're not going to eat it, maybe I should." He held the spoon up to his mouth.

Stephy fussed and reached out her hands.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." This time, when Clint offered the sweet potatoes to the baby, she opened her mouth and let him feed her.

Steve smiled. It was so good to see the rest of the team bonding with the baby and making her part of the pack. Tony was a fantastic mother, but as a beta, it was good for Stephy to have beta influence in her life.

"Better take the food down to Tony before he decides it's an excuse to wander up here and check things out," Clint advised.

Right. Steve set the toast on a plate and smeared a a healthy dollop of jam onto it. From what he remembered, Tony liked plenty of jam on his toast.

When he got down to the lab, Tony was poking at the Quinjet's exhaust system, but he hurried over to grab his breakfast.

"The baby get fed, too?" Tony asked after he swallowed his first mouthful of toast.

"Yes," Steve said. "Stop worrying. We'll handle it." He squeezed Tony's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't get overwhelmed. Take breaks when you need to, but try to get as much done today as you can."

"Why?" Tony asked. "What's the rush?"

Steve shrugged. "We might all have a picnic in the park tomorrow and you might like to bring the baby along. But if you don't have all your work done for your company and for Fury, you'll probably get a lot of calls demanding results. And I'd hate to have you working instead of enjoying the afternoon with us."

Tony rolled up his sleeves. "Oh, we'll see about that," he said. "This is all going to be done. Just you watch."

Steve smiled. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. "I'll check in on you later," he promised, planting a kiss on Tony's forehead.

Tony gave him a thumb's up and stuffed the rest of the toast in his mouth.

Now that he had something to really work towards, Tony was soon hard at work. Steve came back down to the lab a little after noon to check in on him and bring him lunch and by that time, Tony was deeply engrossed in upgrading the Quinjet's fuel intake system. There were parts strewn all across the lab bench and Tony was frowning at them intently as he typed in a few commands on his computer. Tony acknowledged the sandwich Steve brought with a nod, but he kept right on working.

Tony wandered up from the lab a few times later in the afternoon in search of coffee and Steve sent him back down every time with a full mug and a kiss.

By dinner time, Tony still wasn't finished with his projects, so Steve went back downstairs with a plate of burritos and set them next to Tony's station.

"I think I'm close to a breakthrough," Tony said, eyes wide with excitement. "If this works, we could save a lot of money on jet fuel."

"Glad to hear it," Steve said. He patted Tony's shoulder. "You're doing great."

After dinner, Steve spent two hours working out in the gym and then called it an early night. He woke up to the familiar dip in the bed as Tony curled up beside him and rested his head on his chest. He smiled and stroked Tony's hair.

Everything was right with the world again.


End file.
